“The next round of talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Oman will start from January 16 and the negotiations for the pact are progressing well,” a senior official said on January 9. “The talks on the text of most of the chapters have been concluded by both sides for the … Read more
Bahrain is targeting to increase tourist footfalls from India beyond the 2019 levels and has stepped up marketing and promotion efforts to achieve this target, a senior official of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority has said. “India is an important market for us and this year we are targeting to increase the tourist footfalls from … Read more
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 9, 2022 | Photo Credit: via Reuters Chinese President Xi Jinping met Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh on Friday in the first of two “milestone” Arab summits showcasing Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as … Read more
By Abhishek Khajuria We in India always talk about the burgeoning youth population and harnessing the ‘demographic dividend’ by providing them the best opportunities to grow and take the country forward. To the west of our country, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are experiencing a similar ‘youth bulge’. This youthful energy can … Read more
Dubai – Altibbi, a Middle East digital health platform founded in Jordan and headquartered in Dubai, has raised $44 million in a series B round to expand its online pharmacy and diagnostic collection business, it said in a statement on Monday. The funding round was led by Dubai-headquartered Foundation Holdings and the venture capital arm … Read more
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that India will launch talks for a free trade agreement with Canada next March or April and that all countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council have approached New Delhi to begin negotiations on behalf of the grouping. At the 94th Annual Convention of the Federation of … Read more
India is reconsidering a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the country’s biggest trading member in the bloc, approached it to revive talks that got stalled in 2008. Early analysis has identified about 1,100 products, including washing machines, ACs, refrigerators, spices, tobacco, cotton fabrics, textiles … Read more
DUBAI: The UAE said Tuesday it supports Saudi efforts to end a three-year Gulf dispute, Abu Dhabi’s first reaction to recent statements suggesting the rift between four countries and Qatar could soon ease. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan told AFP last week that the kingdom and its allies the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and … Read more
Saudi Arabia is increasingly relying on state-owned investors to finance itself amid the coronavirus pandemic, a strategy that raises questions about how exposed ordinary Saudis could be to a sovereign shock. The government-backed institutions – namely the pension fund and insurance agency – have seen their domestic debt holdings nearly double in the first six … Read more
The Arab “dean of diplomacy”, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who died on Tuesday aged 91, survived Kuwait’s worst crises with an iron hand and a reputation as a shrewd, unshakeable monarch. Even before his appointment as emir, he spent decades manoeuvring in the shadows of his predecessors; his half-brother Jaber Al-Sabah and cousin Saad Al-Sabah. … Read more