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Economy & Business

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images

Here's what to know about Iraq's corruption as Zaidi launches crackdown

Watchdogs and financial institutions regard Iraq as a significantly corrupt country as the new prime minister works to recover public funds.

AFP via Getty Images

Traffic plummets through Strait of Hormuz after Iran, US trade fire

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had recovered somewhat before renewed fighting between Iran and the United States saw traffic drop sharply over the weekend.

A student attends a training seminar at the Tourism Ministry Training center in the city of Riyadh on August 30, 2022.

Interview

Saudi labor localization will take ‘generation or two': Armada CEO

Around 70% of Saudi Arabia's population is 35 years old or younger, according to the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics, providing ample opportunity for an educated and technology-savvy national workforce in the coming decades.

Olivier Badard

CEO of Armada Holding

A tourist boat passes near crude oil tankers, bulk carriers, and other vessels anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, Oman, June 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why the Hormuz oil shock never became an energy catastrophe

The US-Israel-Iran war produced a historic oil supply shock but not a severe global economic crisis, due to ample prewar supplies, China's energy pivot and strategic reserve releases.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Explainer

Gulf states push incentives for investors, expats after war dents image

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

Explainer

Syria’s energy push could soon get a major boost from Chevron: What to know

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

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

The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) minister of industry and advanced technology, Sultan al-Jaber (L), looks on as John Kerry, the US president's climate envoy, tours the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation (GMIS) Summit in Dubai on November 22, 2021. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

PRO: Middle East climate tech startups to be hot investment in 2023

A handful of regional firms have received significant investments recently.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

A worker carries an empty Petronas gas cylinder on his shoulder at a shop in Ampang, in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Feb. 29, 2016.

Malaysia’s Petronas to explore for 'unconventional oil' in Abu Dhabi

Unconventional oil, which is extracted via relatively complex methods, is found in the Western Hemisphere and Russia. Abu Dhabi is also seeking to extract some after successfully obtaining unconventional gas.

A fisherman tries to catch a freshly caught tilapia fish in a boat on the Nile River in the village of Gabal al-Tayr, north of the southern city of Minya, Egypt, Nov. 13, 2019.

Egypt to increase fish production at Lake Bardawil

Egypt is to develop one of the most important lakes in the north to ramp up its fish production and improve the economy in the northern Sinai Peninsula.

OPEC+ decision to maintain production marks end of oil’s turbulent year

The Saudi- and Russian-led cartel has both increased and decreased oil production this year, affecting global oil prices and relations with the United States in the process.

Chef Mahmoud Abd El Gaid prepares a veal steak at Pipa, an Italian restaurant, in Cairo on Monday Nov. 14, 2022.

Egyptian students turn to private companies for employable skills

Many Egyptian youth are graduating from universities and colleges without the skill sets needed to enter the current job market.

A man sells Simit on a street corner on Nov. 03, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey's official inflation rate topped 85.5% in October according to state statistics agency TUIK the highest level in 25 years.

As Turkey’s inflation slows in November, all eyes now on pay hikes

Despite the fall in the annual inflation rate, Turkish consumers are likely to face monthly price increases averaging 3% to 4% in 2023.

Iran unveils its first homemade vehicle with Euro-6 emissions technology on Dec. 4, 2022.

Iran produces pickup truck in compliance with EU emission standards

Khodro’s Foton Tunland complies with the European Union’s Euro VI emission standards for heavy vehicles.

A detailed view of the adidas ‘Al-Rihla’ official soccer ball on the pitch prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group A match between Ecuador and Senegal at Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar, Nov. 29, 2022.

World Cup soccer ball made in Egypt

Egyptian officials have praised a local company for manufacturing the official World Cup soccer ball currently held in Qatar, hoping to expand globally in this field.

Lebanon fans cheer during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Asian qualification soccer match between the United Arab Emrites and Lebanon at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 2, 2021.

Many Lebanese not able to watch World Cup matches

Many Lebanese have been dismayed by the news that the 2022 FIFA World Cup will not be broadcast on the public channel Tele Liban due to financial difficulties.

Harvested wheat in Qursaya island, Cairo, Egypt, May 16, 2022.

Egypt buys first Ukrainian wheat shipment since Russian war began

Egypt's General Authority For Supply Commodities is believed to have purchased 175,000 tons of wheat, through private talks with importers, making it the first Ukrainian wheat purchase since the start of Russia's war on Ukraine.

This picture taken on November 1, 2022 shows a view of the Nile river between Egypt's capital Cairo (L) and its twin city of Giza (R). - The Pharaohs worshipped it as a god, the eternal bringer of life, but the clock is ticking on the Nile. Climate change, pollution and exploitation by man is putting existential unsustainable pressure on the world's second longest river on which millions of Africans depend. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt’s water crisis to worsen, intensifying tensions with Ethiopia over Nile Dam

Marc Español

Saudi Arabia Aseer

Saudi wealth fund to invest in mountainous Aseer region

Aseer receives the most rainfall in Saudi Arabia and has some tourism potential, but the kingdom is not close to meeting its tourism goals at present.