There is a promising future for open banking services in the UAE, writes Ahmad Abdel-Rahman. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) seeks to establish itself as a major digital hub in the Middle East. The UAE, with its young, tech-savvy and entrepreneurial community, is leading the way in financial technology and digital-based companies. The UAE is aware t...
New Zealand PM bows out
Here's an article from The Economist which, while talking about John Key's resignation, states that NZ is "one of the most successful countries in the world. While this is debatable, there is no doubt that Key has had successes- namely international recognition- along with failures, housing, immigration and the environment. We have yet to see whether the new Prime Minister, John English, will have the same success.
Ahmad Abdel-Rahman investigates what countries could fill the gap in the Middle East after the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. It seems history is repeating itself. In 1968, when British troops withdrew from the Persian Gulf the US filled the strategic vacuum in the Middle East. Now the Americans are exiting the regio...
In the global oil and gas war, the Middle East is caught between geopolitics and economics, writes Ahmad Abdel -Rahman. Today, major oil and gas producers are facing difficulty in determining and stabilising oil and gas prices globally. This is in addition to the noticeable shortage of supplies to Europe due to the Russian-Ukrainian war and the Rus...
The subject of refugees is always controversial. People often don't like refugees because they feel they take homes and jobs away from locals. It's probably not true but that's the way people think. Is it where refugees come from? Or do they have to look the same as locals? Lucia Dore discusses this issue. Refugees are back in the news. This time i...
Countries in the Middle East are walking a tightrope between the war in Ukraine and the talks in Vienna about the nuclear deal with Iran, according to Ahmad Abdel-Rahman. Where is the Middle East heading in light of the escalation of the war in Ukraine? And what are the repercussions for the region? Russia has strengthened its military presence in ...
The five largest Arab economies in 2021 continue to do well. Saudi Arabia and the UAE at the forefront, writes Ahmad Abdul -Rahman. Saudi Arabia ranked first, with its gross domestic product (GDP) expected to reach USD 804.9 billion at current prices by the end of 2021, according to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) estimates. This is in spit...
We've run a number of articles recently talking about the affects of the Ukraine-Russia War on the Middle East, primarily involving the effects of wheat and grain prices. Here is an article on Iraq that talks about that. By Ayser Jabber for Al Monitor. The global economic crisis due to the Russian-Ukrainian war has led to price hikes in Iraq. This ...
The reality of Arab attitudes towards the war in Ukraine and the US administration is discussed by Ahmad Abdul-Rahman The most that can be said about Arab attitudes towards the war in Ukraine is that their response has been slow and deliberate. Saudi Arabia has not abandoned the OPEC Plus strategy with Russia, despite the American demand to increas...
Egyptians consumed EGP 120 billion worth of foodstuff during Ramadan, writes Ahmad Abdel-Rahman . First assistant Minister of Supply for Investment and head of the Internal Trade Development Authority (ITDA), Ibrahim Ashmawy affirmed that the changes taking place in the world point to a new global economy, particularly in light of the continuing im...
The war in Ukraine, following Russia's invasion there, has had many implications for the rest of the world, most of them negative. Some Middle East countries are benefiting from the war from an oil perspective, while countries are being negatively impacted as a result the rising price of wheat, and grain more generally. The implications of the war ...
I read an article today in the UK's Daily Mail which states: "Hackers from the UAE targeted number 10 with spyware that can allow 24-hour surveillance of messages, photos and calls in alarming security breach." A report in the UK's Guardian also says: "No 10 suspected of being target of NSO spyware attack, Boris Johnson 'told'" This is followed by ...
The Egyptian economy overcomes the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic and continues to grow, writes Ahmad Abdul-Rahman. Egypt was one of the few emerging economies that saw a positive growth rate in 2020. This is a result of the government's quick and cautious policy response to Covid which included a short period of general lockdowns, coupled with sup...
Energy investments in the Arab region will reach USD 1 trillion in 2023, writes Ahmad Abdul-Rahman. This includes developing nuclear energy. Dr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the League of Arab States (AL), affirmed that there is complete coordination among the Arab bodies concerned with atomic energy. The aim is for the AL to encourage a...
By Lucia Dore Nowadays, viewers and readers of the media are subject to sanitised programming. Programmes are censored, especially the news. And although censorship is annoying, it is not new. However, not all censorship is endorsed or carried out by governments. Self-censorship is common, especially in societies that believe they allow "freedom of...
Why has the IMF raised its estimates for the growth of the Egyptian economy during in 2022? Ahmad Abdul-Rahman gives some likely reasons. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its estimates for the growth of the Egyptian economy to 5.6 per cent for the current fiscal year 2022/2021, exceeding the recent estimates of the World Bank (WB)...
In this article Ahmad Abdul-Rahman assesses what the rise in wheat prices might mean for the Middle East. Bread prices in the Middle East are rising rapidly due to concerns about wheat supplies from Ukraine and Russia. Such price increases have in the past led to violent protests and political unrest. The protests have already begun, with hundreds ...
Over recent weeks we, at LDC Consultancy, have been looking at Ukraine and the impact of grain supplies on the Middle East. One of the alternatives to the import of grain from Ukraine and Russia is Ito import wheat from India. Egypt specifically is looking at India to as an alternative supplier of wheat. A possible scenario is outlined here. by Ahm...
Ahmad Abdul-Rahman writes about the risks that the Russian-Ukrainian crisis poses to Arab countries. As the world's eyes turn to Ukraine because of Russia's war there, the escalating crisis between the two countries has repercussions beyond the European continent. They will be felt thousands of miles away in the Arab region. What are the poten...
The Gulf oil and gas producing countries may be the biggest winners in the war between Russia and Ukraine, writes Ahmed Abdul-Rahman. There is a consensus among observers and analysts of Gulf affairs that if the sanctions imposed by world leaders on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine include the energy sector, this may benefit the Gulf States. Ge...
Bahrain's banks are not only set to recover after the negative impact of the Corona pandemic but are embarking on greater digitalisation of its services, writes Ahmed Abdul-Rahman The Corona pandemic had a significant negative impact on banks around the world, as they witnessed a contraction in their revenues and growth. Although Bahrain's banks al...