GCC Relations

A picture taken from a station of Dubai's Palm Monorail, shows traffic on a road in Palm Jumeirah on August 28, 2025.

World Bank ups Middle East 2025 economic outlook as oil, tourism rebound

The lender expects gross domestic product growth in the region to average 2.8% this year, up from its April forecast of 2.6%.

The Saudi delegation meets with Vietnamese officials in Hanoi, Sept. 29, 2025.

After China, Saudi industry minister visits Vietnam in eastward economic push

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef met with a number of Vietnamese officials on Monday as the oil-rich Gulf kingdom looks east to diversify its economic alliances.

The headquarters of the UAE's state oil company, ADNOC, Dubai, July 27, 2022.

Analysis

After $20B deals unravel, will Gulf oil majors scale back abroad?

International deals pursued by Saudi Aramco and the UAE's ADNOC have collapsed in recent weeks, adding fresh complications for both national oil companies amid their drive to grow in new markets.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Pakistani Prime Minister and Saudi crown prince

Analysis

Planned diversification or US doubts? Why Saudi Arabia inked Pakistan security pact

Saudi Arabia’s new defense pact with Pakistan signals growing Gulf doubts about US security guarantees.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Latest News

Trump’s tariffs push India closer to UAE as non-oil trade soars 34%

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

US, Saudi Arabia wrap up drone drill after Iran’s top security chief visits Riyadh

A US Army Mobile Low, Slow, Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (MLIDS) vehicle equipped with counter-drone sensors and weapons. Similar systems were fielded during the Red Sands 2025 exercise in Saudi Arabia.

UAE’s MBZ meets Azerbaijan's Aliyev as Abu Dhabi expands South Caucasus footprint

UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan meets Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Karabakh, Sept. 16, 2025.

United Arab Emirates

Arab, Islamic leaders urge 'review' of Israel ties at emergency summit after Doha strikes

Reporters follow Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani's address at the media centre, during the opening of the 2025 Arab-Islamic emergency summit in Doha on Sept. 15, 2025.

Telegraph

UAE-backed RedBird IMI pulls out of Telegraph deal, will sell UK newspaper

RedBird IMI effectively took control of Telegraph Media Group in December, when it repaid the owner family’s debts, including a $753 million loan against the media outlets.

United Arab Emirates

View of an oil field at a base near Bentiu, South Sudan.

UAE company agreed to loan $13B to South Sudan in exchange for oil

A $13 billion loan to South Sudan, funded by Hamad Bin Khalifa Department of Projects, marks the largest-ever cash deal for the country.

United Arab Emirates

Saudi-UK tech hub

Interview

Saudi Arabia's giga-projects to offer 'testing ground' for British technology

Saudi startups and fintech firms are looking to tap into the United Kingdom's $1 trillion tech market.

Matt Jones

Matt Jones

Saudi British Joint Business Council Project Officer

(L to R) EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud during a plenary session titled "Transforming for a New Era", during the Doha Forum in Qatar's capital on March 26, 2022. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

What does EU visa relaxation for Saudi, Bahraini, Omani citizens mean?

Under the new rules, Bahraini, Omani and Saudi Arabian nationals will be eligible for multiple-entry visas, allowing them to visit the Schengen area (the EU’s 27 member states as well as Bulgaria and Romania) and move freely between them.

ncreased tensions in the region benefit Gulf states' bottom lines in the short term, while undercutting their longer-term economic visions.

Soaring regional tensions boost Gulf budgets, threaten long-term goals

Most of the Gulf’s economic diversification plans still rely heavily on oil and gas revenues, especially in Saudi Arabia, where the most speculative parts of Vision 2030 face a lack of interest by foreign investors.

Sebastian Castelier

By Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir attend the 8th Ministerial Meeting of China-Arab States Cooperation Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 10, 2018.

Will China-Arab States Cooperation Forum summit help boost Beijing’s ties with Mideast?

The 10th session of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum is due to be held on May 30 in Beijing — will it result in even stronger China-Arab relations?

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

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

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

UK-Saudi deal allows kingdom to tap into Britain’s $1T tech market

The kingdom spent $5.1 billion on research and development in 2022, a 32.7% from the previous year’s $3.9 billion.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ( L) stands beside Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud upon his arrival at the Aden Abdulle international airport in Mogadishu on Jan. 25, 2015.

Beyond Ethiopia & Somaliland, Turkey-Somalia defense deal fuels UAE rivalry

The latest deal between Ankara and Mogadishu emerges as a potential friction point for Turkey and the UAE as they vie for influence in Somalia.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and his wife Brigitte Macron (R) greet Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (C) during an official visit to the Elysee Palace, in Paris on February 27, 2024. Macron and the Emir of Qatar take stock of current efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza, as well as ways of speeding up the implementation of a Palestinian state in order to bring a lasting end to the conflict. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty

Qatar to pump nearly $11B into French start-ups, funds until 2030

The new investments will target key areas, including the aerospace, energy, semiconductor, artificial intelligence, digital, health, hospitality and cultural sectors.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy in Saudi Arabia to talk prisoners, Russia war

Saudi Arabia has taken an increasingly active role in mediating the Ukraine-Russia war while maintaining friendly relations with both states.

An oil tanker waits near the Marathon Anacortes Refinery, operated by Marathon Petroleum, in Anacortes, Washington, March 8, 2022.

US sanctions UAE entities for allegedly violating Russian oil price cap

The US Treasury Department also moved to crack down on entities buying diamonds from Russia, a key revenue stream for Moscow amid its war against Ukraine.

United Arab Emirates

Milkor 380 drone.

South Africa’s Milkor gets go-ahead to produce drones in Saudi Arabia

The Gulf country is bolstering its defense capabilities amid increasing instability in the Middle East.