MENA

Gulf investment in MENA: Obstacles and opportunities

Obstacles persist in the region amid conflicts, corruption, and uncertainty, but bright spots show how to attract foreign direct investment, including in Morocco and Egypt.

Amer Ziab Al-Tamimi 13 January 2024

North Africa reels from natural and man-made disasters

Fares Garabet 14 September 2023

What Awaits the Middle East in 2023?

Individually and collectively, the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have experienced a slew of concerns in 2022 as the world has shifted under the weight of superpower conflicts…

Dalia Ziada 30 December 2022

Bahraini traders are pictured in Bahrain Bourse in Manama, Bahrain, November 5, 2020. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Gulf Stocks Fall On Tight Monetary Policy Outlook

Major Gulf stock markets ended lower on Sunday as investors in the region reacted to comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaling the U.S. economy would need tight monetary policy "for…

28 August 2022

This file photo taken on September 24, 2020, shows the Brega oil port in Masra Brega, some 270Km west of Libya's eastern city of Benghazi. (Photo by AFP)

Libya Struggles with Self-Made Oil Crisis

In mid-April, the MENA growth forecast of the World Bank anticipated that the economies of Arab oil exporter countries “are expected to grow by 5.2% in 2022, the fastest rate since 2016, on the back…

Dalia Ziada 29 April 2022

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz. SPA

A New Saudi Arabia in the New Middle East

For better or worse, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is rapidly transitioning into a new geopolitical structure, with new centers of influence and diverse agendas of individual and…

Dalia Ziada 18 February 2022

Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. The Taliban celebrated Afghanistan's Independence Day on Thursday by declaring they beat the United States, but challenges to their rule ranging from running a country severely short on cash and bureaucrats to potentially facing an armed opposition began to emerge. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Middle East Braces for U.S. Withdrawal Aftermath

The entire world is, legitimately, overwhelmed by the dramatic scenes of Taliban’s return to the peak of power in Afghanistan, following the haste and chaotic withdrawal of the United States and NATO…

Dalia Ziada 20 August 2021

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Ethiopia. (Getty)

The Water Wars Defining Middle East Future

Armed conflicts are not new to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It is the only region in the world where people, on daily basis, witness stories of territorial disputes, civil wars,…

Dalia Ziada 11 June 2021

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AFP-Al Majalla

Business & Economy

Saudi investment summit convenes at a pivotal moment for the region

25 October 2025

It will be the largest gathering since the inception of the Future Investment Initiative in 2017, with 600 speakers set to address the four-day event and an impressive lineup of attendees

Maher Chmaytelli

People walk amid the destruction in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip on October 11, 2025, a day after a ceasefire took effect.

AFP

Politics

Gaza's partition: Palestinian peril dressed up as pragmatism

26 October 2025

Presented as post-war stabilisation, an experiment in controlled fragmentation appears to be underway, with diplomacy, security, and commerce converging to cement a new geopolitical order

Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy

Al Majalla

Politics

Japan quietly prepares itself amid China's rise

23 October 2025

While the world discusses Beijing's ascendancy and the rivalry among great powers, Tokyo forges its own path—one dotted with patience, discipline, and strength

Ibrahim Hamidi

Al Majalla

Politics

Is the US going to war with Venezuela?

26 October 2025

A string of recent statements from US President Donald Trump, coupled with American naval deployments this month, makes for a compelling case. But could this just be psychological warfare?

Tarek Rashed