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.

Featured February 6, 2025

Russian’s Spending More Tourist Dollars On Overseas Trips

Russian spending on trips abroad has exceeded pre-2019 record levels, according to the Russian Central Bank. In 2024, Russian nationals spent almost US$38 billion on travel to other countries, overtaking the previous record by US$1.5 billion. Among the main reasons for the growth of the Russian overseas tourism sector are the availability of new destinations […]

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Featured February 6, 2025

More Istanbul – St.Petersburg Flight Connections From March

Turkiye’s AJet airline will launch direct flights between Istanbul and St. Petersburg on March 14, according to St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport. There will be four flights a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Pulkovo airports press service stated that “AJet is the fourth carrier on the St. Petersburg-Istanbul route. The number of flights to […]

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February 6, 2025

Russian Visits To Israel Decline To Just Over 70,000 For 2024

The Israeli Tourism Ministry has said that 72,600 Russian tourists visited Israel in 2024, a sharp decline from the 158,500 Russian tourist arrivals in 2023. The number of tourists fell after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated on October 7, 2023. Overall, Russian visitors retained the fourth position among foreign tourists to Israel in 2024 with a […]

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February 5, 2025

Russian Agricultural Exports To Egypt Up 20% In 2024  

Russia boosted exports of agricultural products 20% year-on-year to over $3 billion to Egypt in 2024, the Agriculture Ministry’s Agroexport center has said, citing preliminary expert estimates. The main export product was wheat, accounting for 84% of all deliveries. Sunflower oil at 13%, soybean oil at 2%, and dried lentils and chickpeas under 1% each […]

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January 30, 2025

Russia-Syria 2025 Diplomatic, Trade, and Security Updates

A Russian delegation has been visiting the new regime in Syria following the fall of the pro-Russian Bashar al-Assad government lasts month. In apparently positive news for Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has reported that Moscow and Damascus intend to maintain their historically stable and mutually beneficial relationship. It was the first Russian […]

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January 23, 2025

Russia – Azerbaijan Bilateral Trade Up 10.1% In 2024

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia rose 10.1% year-on-year to nearly US$4.8 billion in 2024, Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee (SCC) has stated. This places Russia third among Azerbaijan’s foreign trade partners after Italy and Turkey. The volume of Azerbaijan’s exports to Russia decreased 1.5% year-on-year to US$1.178 billion. Exports to Russia accounted for 4.4% of […]

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January 21, 2025

Saudi Arabia Still Thinking Over BRICS Membership 

Saudi Arabia’s Economy and Planning Minister, Faisal bin Fadhil Al-Ibrahim, has said that Riyadh has not made the final decision to join BRICS and is still assessing its possible membership in the group, saying “The kingdom is always focusing on fostering more global dialogue.” He made the comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, […]

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January 21, 2025

EAEU Members Complete Procedures For An Iran Free Trade Agreement

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states have completed the procedures needed for the entry into effect of the free trade agreement with Iran, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) has stated to Andrei Slepnev, the EEC’s Trade Minister. Slepnev himself stated that “Currently, the procedures necessary for the entry into force of the free trade […]

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January 21, 2025

Russian Meat Exports Increased 27% In 2024   

The Russian Agriculture Ministry has stated that Russia exported over 700,000 tonnes of meat and by-products in 2024, 27% more than in 2023. Russia exported 34% more pork products, 25% more poultry products and 22% more beef products, and has additionally achieved more than 100% self-sufficiency for meat and meat products, which not only guarantees […]

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