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Economy & Business

An attendee walks past signage displayed inside the venue for the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images)

Syria to rejoin Arab group at IMF, leaving Russian-led constituency

Syria will rejoin the Arab constituency at the International Monetary Fund beginning Nov. 1 and has applied for membership in the EBRD.

Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova returns the ball to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their WTA Finals tennis tournament in Riyadh on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Fayez NURELDINE / AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

From Six Kings Slam to FIFAe finals, Saudi Arabia's events derailed by war

Some of Saudi Arabia’s flagship events — across sectors including culture, entertainment and sports — have been canceled or postponed following deadly Houthi attacks over the weekend.

Flames burn at a facility belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco south of Riyadh

Explainer

Aramco HQ attack exposes Saudi defense gaps, infrastructure vulnerabilities

The Iran-linked Yemeni militants struck at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry this week amid an expanding campaign against key infrastructure.

Abdulrahman Alfozan in an undated photo

Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan, Saudi national charged in bugging OpenAI meetings?

The Saudi national who was arrested for allegedly planting a covert listening device at OpenAI’s offices has extensive experience working at leading technology companies in the US and serves as a venture partner at a Saudi venture capital firm.

Latest News

Explainer

IMF projects Gulf rebound in 2027. Can energy production keep pace?

TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the direction of an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 14, 2026. Smoke could be seen rising from the direction of a major UAE energy installation on March 14, in what appeared to be the latest strike targeting the Gulf's petroleum facilities hours after the US struck Iran's Kharg Island. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) /

Jeddah airport flights disrupted as Houthis escalate threats

Men walk at a terminal at Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on December 12, 2019. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Manchester City fallout tests Gulf’s global investment model

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Manchester City's Emirati owner and UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Explainer

What Houthi airport attacks mean for Saudi Arabia’s aviation ambitions

A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft of Saudi airline Riyadh Air is pictured on the tarmac at King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 7, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

Gulf finance

Gulf central banks raise interest rates after Fed move

Many Gulf nations have mirrored the US Federal Reserve’s decisions on interest rates all year. Israel and Egypt have also raised rates, but Turkey has been cutting — despite skyrocketing inflation.

A man walks past the World Bank building in Washington on April 21, 2022.

World Bank says debt increasing in Middle East countries

Egypt, Iran and Turkey’s debt rose significantly last year.

Two firms from the United Arab Emirates have signed a $6 billion deal with Sudan to construct a new port on the Red Sea coast.

UAE's Ports Group expands footprint in Sudan

The agreement allows the Abu Dhabi-based logistics giant to operate ports in Sudan and will contribute to the UAE’s growing influence on the African continent.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry speaks during a press conference with his Sudanese and Ethiopian counterparts, on the sidelines of meetings to announce they had reached an agreement on the sharing of Nile waters and Ethiopia's dam project, Khartoum, Sudan, March 6, 2015.

Egypt’s trade with Nile Basin countries jumps amid Ethiopia dam crisis

Cairo’s exports and imports with the region increased substantially in 2021, but they still represent a small portion of the total and growth remains uneven.

A nurse shows a vial of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus at a hospital at the start of a vaccination program, Tunis, Tunisia, March 13, 2021.

Drug shortage adds to Tunisia’s woes

In light of the successive crises facing Tunisians, pharmacies across the country are suffering drug shortages, which the authorities are unable to resolve.

A picture shows a view of the SEAEAGLE, a vessel which reportedly left Ukraine with a cargo of wheat, anchored in Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, on September 9, 2022. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE-Ukraine trade deal would shore up Middle East food security

The goal is to ultimately secure "all aspects of the international food production supply chain."

MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt’s non-oil private sector records two years of contraction

The last time the Purchasing Managers Index, which offers insight into the private sector, recorded expansion in Egypt's economy was back in November 2020.

US investment Middle East

How the US invests in the Middle East

In our latest PRO Trend Report, we take a deep-dive into American investment in the region and opportunities to expand it.

The German Navy corvette FGS Erfurt (F262) patrols as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) off Lebanon's southern town of Naqura close to the border with Israel on October 27, 2022 (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

TotalEnergies proceeds with gas exploration plans in Lebanon

Lebanon has been eagerly working with the French energy giant since reaching a historic maritime border agreement with Israel in October.

A general view dated 01 June 2004 of an oil installation in Saudi Arabia's northeastern Gulf port of Jubail. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will increase oil output this month by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) over its OPEC quota to help ease record prices, Oil Minister Obeid bin Saif al-Nassiri announced 02 June 2004. Nassiri spoke before departing for Beirut where the oil cartel holds a formal meeting tomorrow. Crude oil futures in New York surged 01 June to a record closing price of 42.33 dollars a barrel

Luberef, Aramco set tone for hot 2023 IPO listings in Gulf

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi GDP growth continues on back of high oil prices

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy is also growing, boding well for its ambitious economic diversification projects.

Aramco stock

Saudi Arabia bucks global slump in IPOs

Despite a slowdown in IPOs in developed markets like the United States and Europe, due to the global economic downturn and stock market volatility, the MENA region and in particular Saudi Arabia are thriving.