UAE’s Arada signs $7 billion deal with Syrian Sovereign Fund
UAE developer Arada signed a $7 billion agreement with the Syrian Sovereign Fund to build its first project in Syria.
The development will include homes, schools, healthcare facilities and entertainment venues.
The deal marks a step toward warmer ties between Damascus and Abu Dhabi, which has moved more cautiously than Saudi Arabia and Qatar in engaging with President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government, Reuters reports.
Syria is seeking foreign investment to rebuild an economy devastated by more than a decade of war and Western sanctions, most of which have been lifted.
Saudi Arabia and U.S. strike deal on nuclear program
Saudi Arabia will be allowed to develop a civilian nuclear program with the help of U.S. companies under a landmark agreement expected to be announced today.
U.S. President Donald Trump has given formal approval to the 30-year agreement, which is expected to be worth tens of billions for American firms while shutting out Russian and Chinese competitors, The Wall Street Journal reported. Westinghouse, which manufactures the AP1000 reactor, is expected to be a major beneficiary.
While the accord is aimed at strengthening Saudi-U.S. relations amid the Iran conflict, some U.S. lawmakers and Israeli officials have expressed opposition amid concerns the kingdom could use a civilian program to eventually develop nuclear weapons.
Trump’s agreement with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman includes only limited inspections of nuclear sites and allows a pathway for Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium or reprocess plutonium on its own soil.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Saudi Arabia shortly before Trump’s 2025 visit for discussions around building out the country’s nuclear power industry.
UAE-Japan trade pact aimed at boosting Japanese car exports
The trade pact negotiated last week by the UAE and Japan should strengthen Japanese auto exports by gradually removing tariffs.
The agreement calls for the UAE to eliminate duties on many finished cars from Japan within seven years, easing costs for manufacturers such as Toyota, Nissan and Honda, Nippon reports.
Japanese officials say the deal will help their companies compete more effectively with South Korean automakers, whose country already has a similar trade agreement with the UAE spaced over 10 years.
The UAE has become Japan’s biggest trading partner in the Middle East and Africa, making the Gulf market increasingly important for Japanese car exports.
ADNOC signs $3 billion LNG deal with Hindustan Petroleum
India signed a $3 billion deal to buy liquefied natural gas from the United Arab Emirates, making it the UAE’s largest LNG customer, as the two countries moved to deepen trade and defense ties.
The agreement was struck during a visit by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, with both sides pledging to double bilateral trade to $200 billion within six years and pursue a strategic defense partnership.
According to the agreement, Abu Dhabi state firm ADNOC Gas will supply half a million tons of LNG a year to Hindustan Petroleum over 10 years, taking ADNOC’s total contracts with India to more than $20 billion.
Indian officials asserted that defense cooperation with the UAE would not draw New Delhi into regional conflicts, despite shifting alliances in the Gulf.
Oman, India sign trade agreement amid Modi-Trump tension
Oman signed a free-trade agreement with India that represents the sultanate’s first bilateral economic partnership deal in nearly two decades.
The accord signed in Muscat on Thursday grants Indian goods zero-duty access on about 98% of Omani tariff lines while India offered liberalized tariffs on most Omani imports.
The pact is expected to boost sectors such as gems, textiles and services and may offer some help as India tries to counter U.S. President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs, Reuters reports.
In August, Trump doubled U.S. duties on Indian goods to 50%, the highest in the world. The hike included a 25% levy that was in retaliation for India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Speaking in Muscat, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the agreement would “strengthen the India-Oman partnership in the 21st century by renewing confidence and momentum.”
Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi exchanges strengthen market connections
In a bid to bring two financial hubs closer together, Hong Kong’s HKEX stock market and Abu Dhabi’s ADX signed an agreement to expand cooperation and strengthen links.
The deal includes potential initiatives in exchange-traded funds, ESG-focused products and cross-listings, Reuters reports.
The Hong Kong exchange last year granted the ADX and Dubai Financial Market the status of Recognized Stock Exchanges and is also preparing to open a representative office in Saudi Arabia.
HKEX CEO Bonnie Y. Chan said the partnership seeks to “unlock new investment opportunities, strengthen market infrastructure, and meet the evolving needs of global issuers and investors.”
UAE’s Etihad Rail aims to upgrade dilapidated network in Africa
Etihad Rail could take a lead role in upgrading dilapidated railways in Africa, as the developer and operator of the UAE’s nascent national rail network eyes opportunities for overseas expansion.
The company signed a host of initial cooperation agreements in May with governments in Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Chad, Arabian Gulf Business Insight reports.
Chiefly, the UAE is being courted to provide a potential lifeline to Kenya’s Mombasa-Malaba standard gauge railway connection to Uganda, an ambitious project which stalled about 400 kilometers short of the border after China pulled back on lending.
The railway will eventually continue on to South Sudan.
Etihad Rail, established in 2009, successfully launched freight operations in the UAE in 2023, with passenger rail services expected to start next year.
Foreign direct investment surges in UAE as new trade pacts pile up
Foreign direct investment in the UAE soared 48% last year as the Gulf state bolstered its international ties through a series of free-trade agreements.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, hailed the milestone on Thursday, calling the $45.5 billion (AED 167 billion) in FDI an “international vote of confidence” in the Emirati economy.
The UAE, which is the Arab world’s second-largest economy after Saudi Arabia, accounted for 37% of total foreign investment in the region, Sheikh Mohammed said, citing the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development’s 2024 World Investment Report.
The government has launched a series of initiatives that helped boost FDI, including reducing visa restrictions, speeding up professional licensing procedures, issuing golden visas for foreign residents and providing generous incentives to attract tech companies, The National reports.
The UAE also widened its campaign to sign free-trade pacts known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements, adding deals with Costa Rica, South Korea, Chile and Australia in 2024.
UAE, European Union see progress in clinching trade deal
The UAE and the European Union are moving closer to a trade agreement that would give the emirates consolidated access to the world’s largest trading bloc while reinforcing the country’s own status as a global logistics hub.
A deal between the UAE and the EU could also be key to unlocking a wider agreement between the 27-member bloc and the Gulf Cooperation Council, a stop-start negotiation which has not yielded consensus in the 35 years since talks started.
Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, met with the EU’s trade chief Maros Sefcovic in Dubai on Wednesday to launch the talks officially over a potential Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the UAE’s framework for the dozens of trade deals it has made since 2021 to diversify its economy.
During his visit to the emirate, Sefcovic also met with the private sector to discuss opportunities for increased investment flows. The EU currently accounts for $67.6 billion in non-oil trade with the Emirates, 8.3% of the UAE’s total trade.
Speaking to reporters alongside Sefcovic, Al Zeyoudi said the UAE wants to seal a deal with the EU “in a very short period, three to six months from now.”
The Emirati cabinet minister added he did not see the talks as a hurdle for a future EU deal with the GCC and noted that bilateral talks with New Zealand and South Korea had led to trade agreements with the GCC, Reuters reports.
“We are seeing it’s a flow which is going to be starting from here and moving to the GCC,” he said. “Usually, the blocs are much slower than the bilateral, and that’s why we’re starting here, so we can move quickly.”
China expands Saudi nuclear ties to strengthen its energy security
China is deepening its nuclear ties with the GCC by signing new cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia just days after the kingdom reached a similar energy agreement with the United States.
Riyadh and Beijing inked the deal at a China-GCC nuclear technology forum in Chengdu, according to China’s state-run Global Times.
The deal covers nuclear safety, security, non-proliferation, and emergency response.
GCC officials say they aim to leverage China’s expertise to strengthen energy security and accelerate sustainable development, Arabian Gulf Business Insight reports.
The move increases China’s influence in the Gulf following earlier agreements with the UAE and joint resource exploration with the kingdom.
