United Arab Emirates - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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United Arab Emirates

April 16, 2026

Abu Dhabi 5:32 am

24°C

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi stocks hit 2026 high, bucking global war-driven volatility

The kingdom's stock market climbed to its highest level of the year on Wednesday, with the kingdom’s equities now far outperforming the S&P 500 and other global and regional indices.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

UAE's deputy PM holds first call with Ghalibaf amid push to extend US-Iran ceasefire

The Emirati vice president and Iran’s parliament speaker talked de-escalation on the phone in the first such contact since the Iran war began.

United Arab Emirates

A man walks through the atrium during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

IMF slashes Mideast outlook by nearly 3 points as Iran war hits economies

The International Monetary Fund cut gross domestic product forecasts for the Middle East and North Africa, with the fallout from the conflict exposing stark divergences between the region’s energy exporters and importers.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in Beijing on April 13, 2026.

China signals bigger Gulf role as UAE crown prince visits Beijing

China, which maintains close ties with both Iran and Gulf states, is hosting one of the UAE's top officials this week as a fragile ceasefire in the region holds.

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Oil back above $100 as US moves to blockade Strait of Hormuz

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

UAE says no more 'niceties' with Iran, seeks clarity on fragile truce terms

TOPSHOT - People watch from a street as a tall smoke plume billows following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026. Iran's strikes on Gulf neighbours since February 28, following the US-Israeli attack, forced the UAE to shut its airspace, blindsiding travellers who thought they were headed to one of the region's safest holiday destinations. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)

United Arab Emirates

Iran hits Gulf, threatens truce as Israel escalates in Lebanon: What to know

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire following an Israeli strike at the Corniche al-Mazraa neighbourhood of Beirut on April 8, 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

Sabena Siddiqui

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

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Mohammed Soliman

In Washington, DC, reporting on Gulf politics

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 aerial view of Khalifa Port is seen in Abu Dhabi April 10, 2014. State-owned Abu Dhabi Ports Co (ADPC) expects a surge in shipping traffic towards the end of this year as work on major infrastructure projects in the United Arab Emirates capital gathers pace, the company's chief executive said. Khalifa Port, built on a man-made island roughly half-way between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, came on stream in 2012 after Zayed Port, which had been serving Abu Dhabi for over 40 years, reached full capacity. Picture tak

Middle East container ports expand growth, investment opportunities

Afshin Molavi

UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention.

UAE announces first case of monkeypox

The Emirates is the second country in the Middle East to report a case of the virus, after Israel. There have been no deaths associated with the recent worldwide outbreak.

United Arab Emirates

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company announces IPO price for Borouge

The joint venture between ADNOC and the Austrian energy company Borealis will soon be listed on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange.

United Arab Emirates

ADNOC headquarters (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) office complex (C).

Affiliate of Abu Dhabi oil company to list on stock exchange

Borouge is ADNOC’s joint venture with Austrian petrochemical firm Borealis AG.

United Arab Emirates

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to reporters while departing the Senate Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 11, 2022.

Harris stresses US-Emirati partnership after MBZ meeting

The visit by Vice President Kamala Harris and other US officials come as relations between Washington and Abu Dhabi hit a rough patch.

United Arab Emirates

A general view of the city skyline at sunset from Dhow Harbour on Feb. 5, 2015 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

More fintech startups come to Abu Dhabi

The UAE wants to attract more entrepreneurs and startups to the country.

United Arab Emirates

Dubai airport

Dubai airport’s passenger traffic reaches pre-pandemic levels

Air travel in the UAE has returned to normal after the industry suffered major losses due to virus-related travel restrictions.

United Arab Emirates

n Emirati man follows the market's movement at the Dubai Financial Market.

UAE meets $400 million target in first bond auction

The Emirati government decided to sell bonds in dirhams to boost the local banking sector and diversify financially.

United Arab Emirates

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

Passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi airports triples, aided by travel from India

The quarterly results from airports in Abu Dhabi indicate that the air travel industry in the United Arab Emirates has recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

United Arab Emirates

Visitors look at screens displaying images of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park on March 20, 2017.

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala to develop electric car charging stations with France’s ENGIE

The UAE is in the early stages of a transition from oil and gas to cleaner energy sources.

United Arab Emirates

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (L) and Heir to the Throne of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, May 9, 2022.

UAE, Greece sign $4.2 billion agreement

The UAE and Greece have become close allies in recent years.

United Arab Emirates