Economy & Business - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Business and Economy Cover Image

Economy & Business

UAE Foreign Trade Minister Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi (L) and Lebanese Economy Minister Amr al-Bisat after signing a memorandum of understanding, Beirut, Aug. 27, 2026.

Lebanon, UAE ink deals, deepen economic ties on Emirati Beirut visit

An Emirati business delegation signed the agreements in Beirut and met with President Joseph Aoun, indicating the UAE's interest in deepening economic ties with Lebanon.

cards

Sharaa taps Visa as Syria reconnects to global finance: What to know

Visa and Mastercard announced Wednesday that their networks can now be used to make international card payments in Syria.

gas station in Cairo, Egypt

Eni presses ahead with Egypt gas projects as war raises investment risks

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met with Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi on Tuesday, with the Italian energy giant revealing it could make a crucial investment decision in coming months.

Latest News

Syrian Airlines expands Europe comeback with Vienna, Copenhagen flights

A Syrian Air passenger jet lands at Aleppo airport on March 18, 2025, the first aircraft to land after it was shut during the offensive that toppled former President Bashar al-Assad.

China warns US not to interfere with Iran trade: What to know

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

Large UAE delegation set to arrive in Lebanon in major investment push

Lebanese Presidency

France, Saudi Arabia announce more than $10B in deals on MBS visit

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shake hands

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

DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images

TikTok launches new program for Israeli startups

With one billion users worldwide and Israeli startup companies growing by the minute, TikTok has launched a special program to assist Israeli entrepreneurs.

NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey looks to import gas from Turkmenistan, test exports to Bulgaria

Turkey and Turkmenistan are working on a gas deal that will likely extend to Europe in a bid to reduce Western dependency on Russian gas.

A general view taken on January 6, 2015, shows the Mellitah Oil and Gas terminal on the outskirts of Zwara in western Libya.

Reports: Libya denies cutting gas exports to Italy

Italy wants Libya to boost its gas exports to Europe in an effort to reduce the continent’s energy dependence on Russia.

A general view of Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq oil processing plant on September 20, 2019. - Saudi Arabia said on September 17 its oil output will return to normal by the end of September, seeking to soothe rattled energy markets after attacks on two instillations that slashed its production by half. The strikes on Abqaiq - the world's largest oil processing facility - and the Khurais oil field in eastern Saudi Arabia roiled energy markets and revived fears of a conflict in the tinderbox Gulf region. (Photo by Fay

Middle East poised for breakthrough in European energy markets

Gerald Kepes

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy trends

An army cadet looks through the window of a bus parked outside Sri Lanka's presidential palace in Colombo.

Flydubai suspends flights to Sri Lanka as Emirates, Etihad keep flying

Sri Lanka is experiencing mass unrest over its deteriorating economic situation.

Iran economy

Unprecedented inflation hammers Iran

Iranians have grown accustomed to high inflation and rising prices, yet recent macroeconomic trends are unprecedented.

TOPSHOT - Lebanese wait to fill their gas cylinders in the southern city of Sidon amidst a deepening economic crisis, on August 10, 2021 - Lebanese lined up in long queues to stock up on cooking gas following warnings of imminent shortages, as an economic crisis eats away at supplies of basic imports.Lebanon, grappling with an economic crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet's worse since the mid-19th century, has been hit in recent months by a wave of shortages of basic items from medicine to

Lebanese cook over wood as high gas prices persist

Desperation is one of the few commodities Lebanon does not lack as the financial burden of securing necessities such as cooking gas grows heavier.

Beirut airport

Passenger traffic increases in Beirut airport

The Lebanese government is banking on Lebanese abroad to visit the country and spend money amid the continued economic crisis.

Workers sort oranges at the MAFA farms pack house on January 31, 2021 in Cairo, Egypt.

Egypt’s monthly inflation falls for first time in 2022

The Central Bank of Egypt declined to raise interest rates again last month. Annual inflation is still up from last year.

Flags are set up during Israel's Negev Summit attended by the US Secretary of State, alongside Foreign Ministers of Israel, Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE, and Morocco, at Sde Boker in the southern Negev desert on March 28, 2022. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel likely to see accelerated capital influx, especially from new regional alliances

Daniel Frankenstein

Daniel Frankenstein

AD Ports signed a joint venture agreement with SEG, one of the largest oil and gas companies in Uzbekistan.

Emirati port operator, Uzbek oil company to open trade hub, cooperate on freight

Other Middle Eastern states are also seeking better economic relations with Central Asia.

Kurdish oil

Oil services companies stop work in Iraqi Kurdistan after court ruling

Iraq’s supreme court recently ruled that the autonomous part of northern Iraq cannot conduct oil deals independent of the federal government, resulting in significant tension.