Memos

Expert insights to understand regional trends.

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Saudi tourism blitz accelerates as Riyadh hopes investors buy the hype

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A picture taken on March 31, 2018 shows a Saudi man standing at the entrance of a tomb at Madain Saleh, a UNESCO World Heritage site, near Saudi Arabia's northwestern town of al-Ula. - Al-Ula, an area rich in archaeological remnants, is seen as a jewel in the crown of future Saudi attractions as the austere kingdom prepares to issue tourist visas for the first time -- opening up one of the last frontiers of global tourism. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to sign a landmark agreement with Paris

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the Israeli northern coastal beach of Nasholim, on August 29, 2022. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Gaza war tests East Med gas integration and national energy security

Gerald Kepes

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy trends

The Ameca humanoid robot greets visitors at Dubai's Museum of the Future, on October 11, 2022. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf players chase data center demand as AI race heats up

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

President and CEO of Saudi Aramco Amin Nasser (L) and Aramco's chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan attend a press conference in the eastern Saudi Arabian region of Dhahran on November 3, 2019. - Saudi Aramco confirmed it planned to list on the Riyadh stock exchange, describing it as a "significant milestone" in the history of the energy giant. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia’s PIF poised for more bold investments as Vision 2030 squeezes war chest

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Visitors view a Bayraktar TB3 Armed Unmanned Aerial System on display at the UMEX Exhibition showcasing drones, robotics, and unmanned sytems at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in Abu Dhabi on January 23, 2024. (Photo by Ryan LIM / AFP) (Photo by RYAN LIM/AFP via Getty Images)

Morocco turns to Turkey for weapons imports as Israel ties strain over Gaza

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

A picture taken during an organised tour by Yemen's Huthi rebels on November 22, 2023 shows the Galaxy Leader cargo ship, seized by Huthi fighters two days earlier, at a port on the Red Sea in Yemen's province of Hodeida. The Bahamas-flagged, British-owned Galaxy Leader, operated by a Japanese firm but having links to an Israeli businessman, was headed from Turkey to India when it was seized and re-routed to Hodeida November 19, according to maritime security company Ambrey. The Huthis said the capture was

How Red Sea attacks could rewire Middle East trade and economic cooperation

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Employees of Aramco oil company work in Saudi Arabia'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

Saudi Aramco’s oil production pivot signals Riyadh’s embrace of fungible fiscal policy

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

The picture illustrates euro and United States 100-dollar banknotes bearing the portrait of US statesman, inventor and diplomat Benjamin Franklin next to Iran's rial banknotes, bearing a portrait of Iran's late founder of Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran on September 30, 2012. Iran's currency, the rial, dived to a new low of around 29,600 to the dollar in open trading, losing over 60 percent of its value since the end of last year according to exchange tracking websites as draconian We

Will the value of the Iranian Rial collapse?

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Visitors attend the 'World Defense Show 2024', north of the Saudi capital Riyadh on February 4, 2024. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

South Korea seeks Gulf business boom with new advantages over rivals China, Japan

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Technicians produce "cultured chicken" meat at the food-tech startup SuperMeat in the central Israeli town of Ness Ziona on June 18, 2021. - It looks like chicken and tastes like chicken; but diners in Israel are tucking into laboratory-grown "meat" that scientists claim is an environmentally-friendly way to feed the world's growing population. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Recovery for ailing Israeli tech sector looks distant

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

Visitors stop at the Aramco exhibition section at the Misk Global Forum on innovation and technology held in the Saudi capital Riyadh on November 13, 2019. - The Misk non-profit foundation was established by Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman to empower Saudi youths through cultivating learning and leadership. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Aramco pivots investment plans as deals beckon in key Asian growth markets

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

ISMAILIA, EGYPT - JANUARY 10: A ship transits the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea on January 10, 2024 in Ismailia, Egypt. In the wake of Israel's war on Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Houthi rebels in Yemen pledged disruption on all ships destined for Israel through the Red Sea's Suez Canal. The disruption on world trade is evident in the number of companies using this container ship route - a 90 per cent decline compared to figures one year ago. (Photo by Sayed Hassan/Getty Images)

Middle East-China trade prospects remain robust despite Red Sea crisis

Howard J. Shatz

Howard J. Shatz

Farmers spray grapevines at a vineyard in Souidania town, 15 Km west of the Algerian capital, on May 16, 2022. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI / AFP) (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI/AFP via Getty Images)

Algeria to miss its 2024 food import reduction target amid worsening drought conditions

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business