Memos

Expert insights to understand regional trends.

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Gaza war brings sharp rise in Israeli defense procurements

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

A shipment of 155mm artillery shells used by the Israeli army is transported on a truck along a highway between the Jerusalem and Beersheba in southern Israel on October 14, 2023. (Photo by Yuri CORTEZ / AFP) (Photo by YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

PORTLAND, OREGON - JANUARY 9: An Alaska Airlines Embraer aircraft is seen taking off at Portland International Airport on January 9, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. NTSB investigators are continuing their inspection on the Alaska Airlines N704AL Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft following a midair fuselage blowout on Friday, January 5. None of the 171 passengers and six crew members were seriously injured. (Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)

Boeing crisis opens door for Airbus to win new Middle East deals

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A picture taken on April 14, 2015 shows a view of a plant processing phosphates in the port of the Tunisian southern city of Sfax. / AFP / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia’s phosphate industry still not ready to help country navigate economic crisis

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Foreign labourers work on the construction of new luxury houses in the Saudi capital Riyadh on April 13, 2019. - Housing is a potential lightning rod for public discontent in a country where affordable dwellings are beyond the reach of many, posing a key challenge for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he seeks to overhaul the oil-reliant economy. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia bolsters expat incentives as war complicates efforts to lure foreign talent

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A photo taken on October 11, 2023 shows the empty Mount of Olives touristic site overlooking Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock (background), as the ferocious war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement further south enters its fifth day. Hamas has branded its coordinated land, air and sea offensive against Israel that began on October 7 "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood". (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Gaza war interrupts tourism recovery for Israel and neighbors

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - JUNE 20: A car enters the drive-thru of a McDonald's restaurant on June 20, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Many U.S. chains, including restaurants, apparel brands and ice cream shops, are present across Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Viral boycotts serve up challenges and opportunities for global brands in Middle East

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Joint forces affiliated with Libya's Government of National Unity assemble inside the closed Tripoli International Airport, as they deploy on the outskirts and entrances of the capital Tripoli on July 25, 2022. - At least 16 people were killed and 52 wounded in fighting between armed groups in Tripoli, the health ministry said on July 23, following the latest politically driven violence to hit the Libyan capital. (Photo by Mahmud Turkia / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images)

Libya’s economy sustained by oil but political impasse threatens stability

Kate Dourian

In Dubai, reporting on energy

A picture taken during an organised tour by Yemen's Huthi rebels on November 22, 2023 shows the Galaxy Leader cargo ship (R), seized by Huthi fighters two days earlier, approaching the port in the Red Sea off 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

Middle East economies navigate treacherous straits as Gaza war infects Red Sea

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A worker arranges products on a shelf as nearby labels reading in Arabic "national product" are displayed on packaged items at a supermarket in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on December 26, 2023, as part of a wider campaign urging Palestinians to boycott Israeli products and buy locally made goods. Since the war in Gaza began, a slew of boycott posters, stickers and leaflets has cropped up across the occupied West Bank. Many Palestinians are looking for alternatives as calls to ban Israeli goods also g

Prospects dim for post-war Palestinian economic recovery

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

A man works in a vegetable field in Fujairah on November 28, 2023. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Global food demand to give Gulf’s liquids-to-chemicals strategy a leg up

Sebastian Castelier

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

An Asian farmer harvests wheat in a field in the Tabuk region, some 1500 kilometers northwest of the Saudi capital Riyadh, on April 7, 2016. Agriculture remains as problematic economic activity due to the high cost of the suppling water in a desert kingdom suffering shortage of water sources. (Photo by MOHAMED HWAITY / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMED HWAITY/AFP via Getty Images)

Can artificial intelligence aid climate solutions in the Middle East?

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SALAM FARAJ An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on February 3, 2012. Tens of thousands of Iranian visitors have been finding difficulty in using the Iranian currency in Iraq due to a depreciation of the rial against the dollar. AFP PHOTO/ ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/GettyImages)

How will uncertainty and government policies impact Iran’s economic outlook in 2024?

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - OCTOBER 31: The Skyline of Riyadh is seen on October 31, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is set to host the men's 2034 World Cup after Fifa confirmed it was the only bidder for the tournament. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia’s multinational HQ deadline nears amid uncertainty for companies and Gulf competition

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech