How Gulf labour systems were reformed
Qatar scrapped exit permits and the NOC in 2020, the UAE replaced unlimited contracts and the NOC in 2022, and Saudi Arabia opened job mobility in 2021. What changed, and what did not.
Gulf Business
Deals, sovereign funds, companies and boardroom moves across the GCC.
World Governments Summit 2026 closes in Dubai
The February 3-5 summit, billed as its largest edition, ran under 'Shaping Future Governments' with AI and trade tracks, and announced four awards including best minister and most reformed government.
Dubai's economy grew 5.4 percent in 2025 to AED 937 billion
Figures published January 31, 2026 put Dubai's 2025 GDP above AED 937 billion with fourth-quarter growth of 6.4 percent, and nine-month data showing AED 355 billion in output.
What is Duqm, Oman's mega-port bet
The Duqm Special Economic Zone stretches across roughly 2,000 square kilometres of Oman's coast, with a deep-water port, one of the region's largest dry docks and a 230,000-bpd refinery joint venture.
The UAE's CEPA trade deals, explained
Since 2021 the UAE has concluded more than twenty Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements, from India in 2022 to Korea, Australia and Türkiye, driving non-oil trade past AED 3 trillion.
How big is the GCC's non-oil economy
Non-oil activities now exceed half of Saudi real GDP and roughly three-quarters of the UAE's, with the bloc's non-oil external trade running in the trillions of dollars.