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French Trade & Invest Commissioner for United Arab Emirates and Middle East and Business France's regional director for the Middle East Axel Baroux. — Business France

Interview

Franco-Gulf investment holds firm despite Iran war, French official says

French investors are reallocating capital toward strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence and technology rather than pulling out of the region altogether.

Axel Baroux

France’s trade and investment commissioner for the UAE and Middle East

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Aramco's VC arm sees boom in emerging technologies, retail

Anas Alqahtani, CEO of Wa'ed Ventures, expects strong growth in Saudi Arabia’s emerging technology and retail sectors over the coming years.

Latest News

Who is Fahd Al-Dosari, Saudi Arabia’s new ambassador to Lebanon?

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji meets with Fahd bin Abdulrahman bin Hathloul Al-Dosari, the new Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, in Beirut on June 17, 2026.

Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Air wins US flight approval: What to know

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

Gulf cautiously welcomes US-Iran deal as Hezbollah congratulates Tehran

Veiled women in black Chadors wave Iran and Hezbollah flags during commemoration at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 22, 2026.

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

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Sabena Siddiqui

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

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

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Israeli-owned cargo ship rocked by explosion in Gulf of Oman

The blast came just hours after US airstrikes hit an Iran-linked militia in Syria

(FILES) This file photo taken on December 26, 2019 shows a general view of the construction works at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia. - The Nile, Egypt's lifeline since Pharaonic days, faces massive strain from pollution, over-use and climate change -- and now the threat of a colossal dam being built far upstream in Ethiopia. When its London-sized reservoir starts to fill this summer, Egypt fears the mega-project will spell an existential threat to its teeming population of

Saudi Arabia wants in on Nile dam dispute

Saudi Arabia has stated its step into the deadlock between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over Addis Ababa’s controversial dam on the Nile River, but just what Riyadh has new to offer is unclear.

Friends of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi hold posters bearing his picture as they attend an event marking the second-year anniversary of his assassination in front of Saudi Arabia Istanbul Consulate, on October 2, 2020. - Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was killed and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, in an operation that reportedly involved 15 agents sent from Riyadh. His remains have not been found. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via

Biden calls Saudi king as US readies report on Khashoggi killing

Reuters reports the US intelligence assessment concluded "the crown prince approved and likely ordered the murder of Khashoggi.”

CENTCOM chief warns Iran over strikes on Erbil, Saudi Arabia

Gen. Kenneth "'Frank" McKenzie warned Iran in the boldest statement yet from the Biden administration over the attacks.

A Kuwaiti trader wearing a protective mask follows the market at the Boursa Kuwait stock exchange in Kuwait City on March 1, 2020. - Boursa Kuwait decided to close the main trading hall due to the COVID-19 coronavirus disease developments. Stock markets in the oil-rich Gulf states plunged on March 1 over fears of the impact of the coronavirus, which also battered global bourses last week. All of the seven exchanges in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which were closed the previous two days for the Muslim

GCC states race for foreign investment

Despite the Saudi-led effort to bury the hatchet with Qatar, unified economic policies are coming up against by GCC countries’ needs to win foreign investment post-COVID.

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - DECEMBER 09: U.S. Army (retired) General Lloyd Austin speaks after being formally nominated to be Secretary of the Department of Defense by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden at the Queen Theatre on December 09, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. The only African-American to have headed U.S. Central Command, Lloyd Austin, 67, is a four-star general who was in charge of American forces in Iraq from 2010 to late 2011. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Pentagon chief reaffirms defensive support for Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to reaffirm strategic ties.

This picture taken February 10, 2021 in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh shows a woman viewing a tweet posted by the sister of Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul, Lina, showing a screenshot of them having a video call following Hathloul's release after nearly three years in detention. - Saudi authorities on February 10 released the prominent women's rights activist, her family said, as the kingdom comes under renewed US pressure over its human rights record. Hathloul, 31, was arrested in May 2018 with about a

Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul released from prison

Hathloul, who was arrested after campaigning for women's driving rights, had spent nearly three years in prison.

A picture taken during a guided tour with the Saudi military on June 13, 2019 shows the welcoming sign at Abha airport in the popular mountain resort of the same name in the southwest of Saudi Arabia, one day after a Yemeni rebel missile attack on the civil airport wounded 26 civilians. - Saudi Arabia accused its arch-foe Tehran of ordering the missile strike on the airport on June 12, drawing promises of "stern action" from the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Yemeni Huthi rebels. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine

Houthis claim responsibility for drone attack on Saudi airport

The attack comes less than a week after the US administration announced it was rescinding the Iran-aligned group's terror designation.

US to continue defensive intelligence support to Saudi Arabia on Yemen

'We are not a party to Yemen's civil war,' CENTCOM commander says

People hold banners of Jamal Khashoggi during a symbolic funeral prayer for the Saudi journalist, killed and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October, at the courtyard of Fatih mosque in Istanbul, on November 16, 2018. - Turkey has more evidence contradicting the Saudi version of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi including a second audio recording, revealing that the murder had been premeditated, a Turkish newspaper reported on November 16, a contradiction to the statement of the Sau

Saudi Arabia commutes death sentences of young Shiites

The sentences of Ali al-Nimr, Abdullah al-Zaher and Dawood al-Marhoon, who were arrested as teenagers in 2012, were reduced to 10 years in prison.

A member of security forces loyal to Yemen's Huthi rebels stands guard as supporters attend a rally denouncing the United States and the outgoing Trump administration's decision to apply the "terrorist" designation to the Iran-backed movement, in the Huthi-held capital Sanaa on January 25, 2021. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

US calls on Yemen's Houthis to halt attacks on Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted four armed drones launched toward the kingdom by the Yemeni rebels.

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Updated: US disputes UN report on capture of Al-Qaeda’s top man in Yemen

The report said Khalid Batarfi was handed over to Saudi authorities, yet a US officials says he's still at large.