Middle East News & Analysis

Middle East

Russia’s trade and investment into the Middle East is rapidly developing, with relations both through the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League all helping boost bilateral trade by 25% during 2025. Partially driven by the developments along the INSTC, and new regional free trade agreements, we provide analysis of the growing Russia-Middle East economic partnership. Discover trade statistics, investment flows from the GCC, and business opportunities for companies in both regions.

EAEU 2030 Action Plan
Featured September 24, 2026

The Eurasian Economic Union & The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s 2027-2030 Action Plan: Content & Analysis

The Eurasian Economic Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation have agreed a Joint Action Plan to cover the period 2027-2030. This covers important trade development areas including digitalization, information and communication technologies, customs regulation, agro-industry, food security, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, consumer protection, green-economy issues and information exchange. We deep dive the contents to explain exactly what this means and the impact on EAEU and SCO members.

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Global South Trade
Featured September 23, 2026

Russia’s Trade With The Global South Hits US$299 Billion In H1 2026: Country By Country Analysis  

Russia’s trade with the Global South and ‘friendly’ countries now accounts for 85% of its total, reaching about US$299 billion in H1 2026. The West provides just 15% of Russia’s economic trade and continues to decline. We examine the main Global South trade partners in all regions, and provide the latest H1 2026 trade data. There are some surprising results for those who assume Russia only trades oil with China and India. The non-energy sector on a worldwide basis is increasingly dominant as Global South trade volumes continue a Russian growth trajectory.

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Saudi Arabia
September 22, 2026

Saudi Arabia Approves More Russian Dairy Suppliers

Saudi Arabia has increased the number of approved Russian milk producers to 26 following increasing demand for quality dairy products. The Saudi dairy market is growing as consumers look for healthy lifestyles and has an expected CAGR annual growth rate of 4% between 2026 and 2034. Russia is the world’s fourth largest producer of dairy products.

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WorldFood Main
September 21, 2026

2026 WorldFood Moscow, St. Petersburg Global Fishery Forum & Seafood Expo: Russia Builds A New Food and Fisheries Trade Network Across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Global South

The WorldFood and Russian Sea Food Expos have been taking place in Moscow and St. Petersburg with significant trade delegations attending from China, India, ASEAN, Brazil, Egypt and the Middle East as well as most of the Global South nations. We discuss in considerable detail how Russia’s agricultural trade is interacting with these international markets in both exports and imports, within an industrial sector whose output is measured in the trillions of dollars.

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Iran Fish
September 19, 2026

Iran Eyes Increasing Fish Exports To Russia

Iran is hoping to quadruple its fish exports to Russia. The country has a free trade agreement with Russia and is a major exporter of prawns and rainbow trout. Iran exports fish and seafood to 67 countries worldwide despite sanctions, with Russia the third largest importer after Iraq and China.

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September 16, 2026

The New Development Bank’s New Investment Platform: Revolutionizing BRICS Payments and Investments

The (BRICS) New Development Bank has been given a new strategic focus with its New Investment Platform giving it a far more significant role in trade development and investment. This has flown somewhat under the radar and been little commented on – however the implications are substantial. It will significantly improve BRICS trade and investment as well as change global trade flows. We explain the NDB’s New Investment Platform, what it includes, how it works and the impact on project financing and future trade.

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BRICS Summit
September 15, 2026

The 2026 BRICS Summit: The New Delhi Declaration,  50-Plus Outcomes, Results, & Deep Dive Analysis

The BRICS 2026 Summit in New Delhi has concluded, resulting in a unanimous, 100 point ‘Delhi Declaration’, and over 50 planned initiatives. With BRICS now responsible for nearly 40% of global GDP and 25% of global exports, what these documents contain matters. We deep dive the results and provide analysis of what BRICS 2026 achieved, the development path ahead and the implications for global trade.

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Egypt Bilateral
September 15, 2026

Russia, Egypt Bilateral Relations: September 2026 Update

The Russian and Egyptian Presidents have met in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. Both had large trade delegations, discussing bilateral development in nuclear energy, industrial cooperation for the wide African market, agriculture, security and tourism. Current bilateral trade is growing at abot 15% per annum. We examine the trade details and developments.

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UAE Relations
September 14, 2026

Russia, UAE Bilateral Relations: September 2026 Update

President Putin has met with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in New Delhi. The two sides have plenty of development issues to discuss. The UAE-EAEU Free Trade Agreement commences next month, while Russia and the UAE commenced their extensive Trade in Services and Investment Agreement last month. Trade between the two sides is at record levels but is about to undergo a significant, global logistics changing metamorphosis – the Joint Venture between Russia’s FESCO Transport and the UAE’s DP World has created the world’s largest logistics business. This will fundamentally alter Middle Eastern and Asian trade flows, while completely reinventing the UAE economy.

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