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Economy & Business

Kaja Kallas

EU restores economic pact to pursue fuller trade ties with Syria

The move marks a major economic step for Syria's recovery after its 13-year civil war and the fall of the Assad regime.

CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

China’s overland trade routes offer Iran wartime economic lifeline: What to know

Cargo rail traffic between China and Iran has reportedly surged since the US blockade began in April as Tehran seeks overland trade alternatives to help buy time.

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

What to know about Iran's 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' to control Hormuz traffic

The establishment of an entity seeking to control maritime transportation in the Strait of Hormuz is the latest sign that Iran wants to formalize authority in the strategic waterway.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks in Beirut on Dec. 19, 2025.

Egypt ramps up energy investments amid war-driven price pressures

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday that Egypt has secured commitments exceeding $19 billion from international oil companies over the next three years.

Latest News

Few ships pass Hormuz despite US efforts to break Iran's hold

Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran strikes UAE’s Fujairah oil hub as US pushes Hormuz reopening

Meysam MIRZADEH / TASNIM NEWS / AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Tarek El Molla

Egypt to drill 35 gas wells by 2025 as BP invests

The energy giant pledged $3.5 billion in investment into gas exploration in Egypt over the next three years.

Aramco

Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves shrink by $16B in July amid oil cuts

The kingdom’s net foreign assets declined to 1.53 trillion riyals ($407 billion), according to the central bank’s monthly report published on Monday.

A man walks by Tadawul, Saudi Arabia's stock exchange, Riyadh, December 12, 2019.

Saudi Arabia’s ADES to launch IPO

ADES rebooted its plans for an initial public offering, having delayed it earlier in the year after the kingdom’s stock exchange experienced difficulties.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Saudi Arabia ink critical mineral cooperation deal

Green energy investments will have an important share in cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, said the Turkish energy minister.

Flags of (L to R) South Africa, Brazil, Russia, India and China during the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, August 24, 2023.

Will BRICS throw a lifeline to dollar-strapped Egypt?

Economists believe BRICS membership will give Egypt a chance to ease pressure on the dollar, but is not a quick remedy for the country’s economic woes

Changing climate conditions and the need to secure water resources has led Morocco to add another 18 dams to its current network of 152, which includes the Abdelmoumen dam, some 37 miles from the coastal city of Agadir, shown here, October 23, 2020.

Drought puts Morocco’s water infrastructure projects into overdrive

Morocco’s budget for water infrastructure is rising as desalination and dam projects advance amid droughts and increasing international partnerships.

Saudi stock

Analysis

Tadawul posts losses but Saudi markets remain fundamentally strong

'A bit of a correction' sheds some prior gains on the Saudi stock index, but professionals see reasons to keep investing in the kingdom.

Harry Clynch

By Harry Clynch

In London, reporting on Middle East economics

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey ends lira protection scheme as banks tally up damage

With Turkey’s inflation on course to hit 70% by the year-end, the plan to convince depositors to shift to regular deposits with yields well below the inflation rate appears unviable.

Nassr's Portuguese forward #07 Cristiano Ronaldo shoots during the AFC Champions League playoff football match between Saudi's Al-Nassr and UAE's Shabab Al-Ahli at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on August 22, 2023. (Photo by Yazid al-Duwihi / AFP) (Photo by YAZID AL-DUWIHI/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia’s soccer spending spree reshapes Middle East sports sector

The kingdom is gunning to become a professional sports powerhouse.

PATRICK BAZ/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon’s acting central bank chief pleads for reform as crisis continues

Wassim Mansouri has been urgently calling on the Lebanese government to enact reforms since becoming acting governor of Banque du Liban following the end of the embattled Riad Salameh’s term.

WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia mulls Chinese bid to build nuclear plant

The news will irk Washington, which wants Riyadh to not be able to develop nuclear weapons.

Turkmenistan gas

Iraq to receive gas from Turkmenistan

Iraq is largely dependent on Iran for gas, despite having its own sizable reserves. The relationship has been complicated by US sanctions on Iran, and Iraq is also seeking international help to utilize its gas reserves.