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Trade

Trade news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

Sales agents taking bids at a Sotheby's auction in London. The 2025 auction will mark the opening of the company's Riyadh office

Sotheby’s pins hopes on Saudi auction launch

Sotheby’s is to open an office and stage its first auction in Saudi Arabia next year.  The new branch will be located in the Faisaliah Tower in the capital Riyadh. The auction will take place on February 8, 2025 in the Unesco World Heritage site of Diriyah.  Prior to the auction, an exhibition featuring the […]

UAE foreign minister and deputy prime minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan is greeted by Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House in Canberra

UAE-Australia trade expected to triple after Cepa deal

Trade between the UAE and Australia is expected to grow threefold in the next eight years following the signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) on Wednesday.  The trade agreement will eliminate tariffs on more than 99 percent of Australia’s exports to the UAE.  The deal, which was announced in September, is expected to […]

The US is keen to work with go-getting tech companies in the Middle East

US and China in race to get their tech into Gulf markets

Gulf countries are likely to face mounting pressure to adopt American technology as the US tries to exploit its best-in-class semiconductor and artificial intelligence products to muscle China out of their markets before the Asian superpower catches up. The US is walking a fine line between increasing the regional uptake of its chips and software […]

Morocco's King Mohammed VI and French President Emmanuel Macron sign documents in Rabat: Macron’s recent visit saw a thawing of political relations

Macron’s Morocco trip the catalyst for $11bn in deals

France and Morocco have announced a series of deals, from railways to phosphates to renewables, worth up to $11 billion during a state visit last week by Emmanuel Macron, his first to the north African kingdom since becoming president in 2017.  The 22 deals followed French recognition of Morocco’s claims to the disputed Western Sahara […]

A stand in Beirut displays Arabic newspapers featuring the inauguration of President Donald Trump in 2017. The Arab world has generally welcomed Trump's return to the White House

Arab world welcomes Trump back to the White House

The Arab world has hailed Donald Trump’s successful bid to return to the White House, with his long-standing personal, business and political ties to the region bringing hopes of closer bilateral relationships with the United States for the next four years. The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, was the first GCC leader […]

The undersea cable will connect Duba (pictured) in Saudi Arabia with Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt

First Saudi Arabia-to-Egypt subsea cable announced

Mobily and Telecom Egypt have signed an agreement to lay the first subsea cable between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the companies announced in a joint press statement on Monday. The new cable will connect the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh with the Saudi city of Duba. Egypt already has landing points for 18 […]

UAE Turkey trade DMCC

More Turkish companies open in UAE after trade deal

A free trade agreement between the UAE and Turkey has been followed by a jump in the number of Turkish companies opening offices in the UAE.  The signing of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) between the two nations in March 2023 was designed to create greater collaboration and remove tariffs on a range of […]

A sheep farm in Pukekohe, North Island, New Zealand. The country exported meat worth $155m to the GCC in 2023

New Zealand agrees free-trade deal with GCC

The GCC has agreed a new free-trade deal with New Zealand. The agreement will give duty-free access to 99 percent of New Zealand exports over 10 years, according to New Zealand trade minister Todd McClay.  McClay said the agreement was the culmination of an 18-year-long ambition to agree a trade deal in the Middle East. […]

Delegates watch PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan speak at FII in Riyadh. He said Saudi Arabia is focusing on domestic investment

PIF signs Japan and Hong Kong pacts worth $52bn

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth up to $51 billion with five Japanese banks.  The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund said the agreements cover a variety of areas, including encouraging two-way capital flows through both debt and equity.  The agreements were signed with Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, MUFG […]

Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan, at the UN Headquarters in September Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan, thanked Saudi Arabia for its support

Saudi Arabia agrees more Pakistan investment deals

Saudi Arabia has signed seven more investment agreements with Pakistan, bringing the total value of what has been agreed in recent weeks to $2.8 billion, Saudi Arabia’s minister of investment Khalid Al-Falih said on Wednesday. Three weeks ago Al-Falih led a delegation from Saudi Arabia to Islamabad, where 27 investment agreements, valued at $2.2 billion, were […]

Crypto traders brokers stock exchange investors analyzing trading charts.

Duo dream big with Abu Dhabi’s first tokenised treasuries fund

The first tokenised treasury bill fund licensed in the Abu Dhabi Global Market launched on Thursday, with its creators hoping to attract $100 million from investors within a year. Such funds buy United States treasuries, which are US government bonds, and then create a blockchain-based token to represent these assets, thereby enabling digital, fractional ownership […]

A construction worker walks through the Dangote Oil Refinery, southeast of Nigeria's capital. The refinery began processing in January 2024

Nigeria-UAE trade tipped to recover as Emirates restarts flights 

Nigeria’s trade with the UAE is expected to rise significantly following the resumption of Emirates flights to Lagos this month. The daily return flights from Dubai offer more than 300 tonnes of “bellyhold” capacity – cargo carried in the hold on passenger flights – every week. Emirates suspended the flights nearly two years ago after […]

Acwa Power has signed a $690m deal with the National Bank of Kuwait to support its future project pipeline in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait

Acwa Power signs $1.8bn deals to promote renewables

Saudi renewable energy major Acwa Power has signed agreements worth $1.8 billion to develop renewable energy and battery storage projects, as well as research and development, across the GCC, China, Central Asia and North Africa. The agreements were signed during the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh. The first pact includes a $690 million agreement […]

GCC economic data

GCC economic data

The latest economic indicators for the Gulf Co-operation Council countries: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain

UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan meets with Vietnamese prime minister Pham Minh Chinh in Abu Dhabi

UAE and Vietnam pact aims for $20bn in bilateral trade

The UAE and Vietnam have signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa), paving the way for $20 billion in bilateral trade. This marks Vietnam’s first Cepa with a Middle Eastern country and was signed by prime minister Pham Minh Chinh in Dubai on Monday, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. The agreement seeks to […]

RECORD DATE NOT STATED Members of Royal Moroccan Armed Forces stand at attention during the visit of U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael Turley, adjutant general, Utah National Guard, and Moroccan officials, Sept. 21, 2022, in Kenitra, Morocco, during joint exercise Maroc Mantlet. The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces soldiers were part of the ceremony in conjunction with the distinguished visitor demonstrations. Maroc Mantlet benefits both the United States and Morocco in building a stronger partnership. Utah and Moroccan service members training and learning together improve security, professional relationships, and also tactics and techniques. Copyright: xpiemagsx dvidspieseptoct2022-22265 ACHTUNG AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHƒTZTNo Use Switzerland. No Use Germany. No Use Japan. No Use Austria military

Morocco plans to increase its military spending in budget

Morocco is planning to increase its military spending by 6 percent next year, as it looks to improve national security and modernise its local capabilities. The defence budget in Morocco’s 2025 Finance Law will be MAD133 billion ($13.4 billion), an increase on the MAD124 billion in the current year’s budget. The Minister of Economy and […]

Former UK chancellor Nadhim Zahawi says a UK-UAE Cepa could be agreed "immediately"

Former UK chancellor Zahawi calls for UAE trade talks

A former UK chancellor has called for the UK to initiate trade talks with the UAE as discussions over a UK-GCC-wide agreement head towards a seventh round. Nadhim Zahawi said a standalone free trade deal between the UK and UAE would “accelerate a full trade agreement” with the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and […]