Smart spending on the enhancement of Gulf governments’ digital capabilities and the development of technology-focused industries is needed to bolster future growth.
Discussions over establishing an e-sports free zone in Dubai reflect the high-growth potential of competitive online gaming across the broader Gulf region.
With few available alternatives for accessing water resources, the UAE is continuing to expand existing desalination facilities and construct new desalination plants.
E-commerce development initiatives align closely with high-priority government agendas to build technology-focused, knowledge-driven economies. However, challenges related to payments, regulation, and delivery threaten e-commerce growth prospects across the region.
Cryptocurrency activity is unlikely to offer the Iranian regime an immediate avenue for evading crippling U.S. sanctions.
The heightened interest in cryptocurrencies across the Gulf is taking place alongside global efforts to both regulate digital assets and attract cryptocurrency firms.
Gulf Arab states are striving to become tech-driven, knowledge economies, but the digital path ahead is bound to be bumpy.
Saudi Arabia has adopted strict austerity measures to combat the dual effect of falling oil prices and the coronavirus crisis. Unlike previous measures that were lifted when oil prices recovered, a July 1 VAT increase (from 5% to 15%) is more likely to stay in place, which could present challenges to low-income families, businesses, and plans to revive domestic tourism.
Learn MoreWhile youth-led awareness campaigns and public health education are shifting the landscape of mental health care in the Gulf, sociocultural challenges persist.
Under the strain of the coronavirus pandemic and the political imperatives of upcoming elections, populism is raging in Kuwait. It colors public discourse high and low, from elite campaigns to root out corruption to grassroot demands to expel guest workers.
A pilot survey of Imam Hussein University academic journals shows the limits of academic freedom in the Islamic Republic, save a few pieces reflecting the Iranian leadership’s view of the role of missiles in strategic deterrence.
Through its careful examination of the forces shaping the evolution of Gulf societies and the new generation of emerging leaders, AGSIW facilitates a richer understanding of the role the countries in this key geostrategic region can be expected to play in the 21st century.
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