Emirati officials are rolling out an array of policies and initiatives intended to attract higher-skilled expatriates, but overlapping initiatives will likely heighten regional competition over foreign talent.
New labor reforms are an important first step to improve conditions for foreign workers and could open the door for wider reforms.
As Gulf Arab policymakers continue to confront an ambiguous future, they will rely heavily on familiar economic policy measures and avoid straying from the status quo as long as possible.
Three processes of interregional engagement – labor dynamics, energy cooperation, and strategic investments – are crucial for understanding how Gulf Arab states will exercise economic power in South Asia over the coming years.
Short-term measures to replace expatriate workers with Omani citizens could have implications for the sultanate’s long-term economic growth and diversification process.
AGSIW spoke with Hadil Al-Moosa about media in Oman, labor laws, women’s entrepreneurship, and the role of government support for entrepreneurs.
Iran’s increasingly tight job market, as a result of poor political and economic policies, as well as global sanctions, may intensify sociopolitical dissatisfaction and spark further unrest.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed announced a new social support program for citizens in the emirate to double the number of the government's annual subsidized housing loans.
Saudi Arabia has recently announced decisions allowing women to apply for jobs in air traffic control, the traffic police, and the military, and to positions as investigators at the public prosecutor’s office. These decisions are made in line with Saudi Vision 2030, to increase women’s participation in the workforce from 22 to 30 percent.
Efforts to diversify the Saudi economy continued to bear fruit in 2023, although oil is still the dominant economic force.
Learn MoreThrough 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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