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January 1, 2026

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Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's influential sovereign wealth fund, addresses the opening ceremony of the Future Investment Initiative, in Riyadh, on Oct. 28, 2025.

Gulf accounted for 43% of global sovereign wealth fund investment in 2025

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was the world's highest spending sovereign wealth fund in 2025, investing some $36.2 billion.

Guests stand at the booth of Saudi AI company Humain during the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh on Oct. 29, 2025.

Analysis

Middle East adapts to Trump’s tech agenda as Gulf AI gamble grows in 2025

This year saw a wave of dealmaking across data centers, chips, critical minerals and AI collaboration as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE eagerly aligned with President Trump’s tech agenda amid sharp swings in US foreign policy.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Traffic moves on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai on March 24, 2025.

Analysis

Gulf finance hubs race to expand as hedge funds flock to Dubai, Abu Dhabi

The Gulf’s top financial hubs have posted another strong year in 2025, with the UAE spearheading a regional push to attract hedge funds, asset managers, crypto and fintech firms as regional neighbors target growth of their own.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Analysis

Trump has upper hand over Netanyahu, but is it enough for Gaza?

US President Donald Trump speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem on Oct. 13, 2025.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Qatar’s prime minister meets US officials as Gaza plan stalls

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) shakes hands with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at the State Department in Washington, on Dec. 17, 2025.

Egypt secures Qatari investment boost, launches first SCZONE industrial deal

Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El Khatib speaking at the Egyptian-Qatari Investment Forum in Cairo, Egypt on Dec. 14, 2025 (State Information Service)

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Jennifer Gnana

Gulf Correspondent

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Kate Dourian

In Dubai, reporting on energy

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Qatar to host Gaza cease-fire talks amid Iran-Israel tension: What we know

Hamas says it will not attend the talks, which will take place in Doha.

Erdogan and Thani

Qatar's emir visits Turkey amid push for de-escalation, Gaza talks

The Qatari emir's visit to Turkey comes as regional countries are ramping up efforts to prevent a broader conflict in the region after the Hamas political chief’s killing.

TEHRAN, IRAN - AUGUST 1: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout image from the Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, leads a prayer over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel on Wednesday, during their funeral ceremony at the Tehran University campus on August 1, 2024 in Tehran,

From Tehran to Doha, funeral-goers mourn Hamas' Haniyeh

Mourners attended mass funeral processions for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh across the Middle East on Friday.

Men wearing thawbs walk past a billboard promoting the transition to renewable energies at the UNFCCC COP28 Climate Conference the day before its official opening on November 29, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The COP28 is bringing together stakeholders, including international heads of state and other leaders, scientists, environmentalists, indigenous peoples representatives, activists and others to discuss and agree on the implementation of global measures towards mitigating the effects of climate c

GCC’s renewable energy push pays off with Qatar, UAE taking lead

Several Gulf states rank relatively high on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Energy Transition Index, reflecting their efforts to transition toward renewable energy and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.

Reporters gather near a Qatar Airways cargo airplane on the tarmac of Hamad International Airport, as the first commercial flight to Saudi Arabia in three and a half years following a Gulf diplomatic thaw prepares for take-off, Doha, Qatar, Jan. 11, 2021.

Qatar Airways sees annual profit climb by 39% to record $1.67B

The Doha-based airline carried more than 40 million passengers over the 2023/2024 financial year, 26% more than over the previous year.

NVIDIA's founder and CEO Jensen Huang.

NVIDIA to deploy AI across Middle East amid increasing US-China tech tensions

It was reported in August 2023 that Washington planned to curb exports of some AI microchips from NVIDIA, as well as from Advanced Micro Devices, beyond China to some unspecified Middle Eastern countries.

Ground crews prepare an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, powering one of its engines with a hundred per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), for a demonstration flight at the Dubai International Airport in Dubai, on January 30, 2023. - Emirates said it successfully flew a Boeing 777 powered by sustainable aviation fuel today, as the Middle East's largest airline aims to halve its jet fuel consumption. The Dubai-based carrier has used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) since 2017, but said its test flight w

Are GCC states prepared for net zero in aviation?

Kate Dourian

In Dubai, reporting on energy

Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani (C) kisses the Taliban flag as he reviews the newly recruited Afghan security personnel during their graduation ceremony at the police academy in Kabul on October 5, 2023. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

What's behind Taliban's decision to attend UN conference in Qatar?

The attendance in and of itself signals progress and the possibility that the international community might find better ways to deal with the de facto rulers in Kabul.

A Qatar Airways plane takes off from Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, Feb. 12, 2022.

RwandAir CEO says Qatar Airways could acquire 49% stake in July

For the past five years, Qatar and Rwanda have been working on a deal that would see Qatar Airways take a 49% stake in RwandAir for an undisclosed fee.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky meeting with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim al Thani on June 5, 2024 in Doha

Following Zelenskyy's visit, how can Qatar help Ukraine in Russia mediation?

Ukraine has maintained cordial relations with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE amid the war with Russia, and the three Gulf states have all sought to play the role of mediator in the conflict.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) addresses the media prior to a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at the Czernin Palace, in Prague, Czech Republic, on May 31, 2024.

Blinken to return to Middle East in diplomatic blitz to end Gaza war

Washington's top diplomat heads to Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar next week as the Biden administration pressures Hamas and Israel to agree to a last-ditch cease-fire proposal to end the war and defuse a volatile border escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh addresses supporters during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinians outside Qatar's Imam Muhammad Abdel-Wahhab Mosque in the capital Doha on May 15, 2021. - Qatar's Foreign Minister hosted the political chief of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and called for an end to Israel's bombardment of Gaza, state media said. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

In Turkey, Qatar defense chief says no plans to expel Hamas

The Qatari minister’s remarks came in response to increasing reports that the Gulf state is considering shuttering Hamas’ political headquarters in Doha.