Analysis Tourism Mena has high hopes for post-pandemic tourism Visitors are returning to key tourism destinations around the Middle East and North Africa, but not everywhere is faring so well The surge in passenger numbers at the Gulf’s biggest airports in the opening months of this year tells a clear story of recovery in the region’s travel and tourism sector. Doha’s Hamad International handled […] June 3, 2022
Energy Oil price fall dents Gulf stock markets Most Gulf markets ended lower on Thursday on growing concerns over inflation and recession and as oil prices slumped following speculation that Saudi Arabia would boost production. Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index finished 1.3 percent lower, hurt by a 2.1 percent fall in oil giant Saudi Aramco and a 1.2 percent decline in country’s biggest Islamic […] June 2, 2022
Energy Who is buying Russian crude oil and who has stopped Here is the response by countries and companies regarding purchases of Russian oil since the war in Ukraine started on Feb. 24. Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States have imposed outright bans on Russian oil purchases, while Group of Seven (G7) nations, including Japan, committed to ban or phase out imports of Russian oil […] June 1, 2022
Energy Russia’s Lavrov to meet GCC ministers in Riyadh on Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Saudi state media said, on a visit that Gulf officials said would feature a meeting with foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. Lavrov, who also visited Bahrain earlier on Tuesday, is expected to meet ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab […] June 1, 2022
Energy Russia’s Lavrov meets Gulf ministers, oil and Ukraine on agenda Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Saudi Arabia on Wednesday where he will meet with foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC). Lavrov is expected to meet with ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar in the GCC headquarters in Riyadh. It was unclear what the meeting will […] May 31, 2022
Agriculture Middle East to benefit from World Bank’s $30bn food security fund The World Bank said on Wednesday it will make $30 billion available to help stem a food security crisis threatened by Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has cut off most grain exports from the two countries. The total will include $12 billion in new projects and over $18 billion funds from existing food and nutrition-related […] May 20, 2022
Exclusive How technology is transforming the UAE-UK trade relationship A quick look at the latest UAE-UK trade figures might give the impression that the centuries-old relationship isn’t what it used to be. But dig a little deeper and the figures – down sharply from close to £18 billion in 2018-2019 to £12.3 billion in the year to last September – can be explained by […] May 19, 2022
Aviation Emirates should be allowed to fly to Berlin, says German exec The bilateral air service agreement between Germany and the United Arab Emirates should be expanded to allow Dubai’s Emirates airline to operate direct flights to more cities, including the capital Berlin, a senior official from the Middle East office of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) told AGBI. Under the existing air services agreement between […] May 16, 2022
Tourism Germany boosts Gulf travel budget with Russia savings The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) increased its marketing budget this year in the Gulf by 10 percent, after making savings by shutting down several of its international offices, including Russia. “We actually got a 10 percent budget increase because, as you can see, we unfortunately had to close our Russian office,” Yamina Sofo, director […] May 12, 2022
