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Saudi Arabia to come to Syria's rescue
27 July 2025
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- Pope Leo hails Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal
- World welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan move towards peace, after “larger than life” White House meeting
- Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons of the thematic groups for Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue, say Washington meeting was a historic moment
- Statement of LINKS Europe on the Armenia-Azerbaijan White House meeting
- Members of the Armenian-Azerbaijani expert strategic platform issue statement welcoming results of Washington meeting
- Historic moment in Washington as Armenia and Azerbaijan end decades of conflict and open the door for a new era
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Economy
Stories related to finance and economics.
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Armenian Prime Minister confirms ambitous reform programme and EU membership bid
17 July 2025
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Armenia wanted to become a member of the European Union within twenty years and will commit to an ambitous reform programme to meet the criteria of EU accession. In a press conference on 16 July, Pashinyan referred to his recent visit in Brussels and said the law adopted by the Armenian parliament meant the country seeks to join the EU. He acknowledged that this was not a simple process and all EU member states needed to agree to Armenia’s membership. He emphasised that regardless of whether Armenia ultimately joins the EU, the country will continue its ambitious reform programme.
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Analysis: Can Arctic routes provide an alternative to the Suez Canal as a major east-west trade route?
29 March 2021
The recent blockage of the Suez Canal by the 400-metre-long 'Ever Given' container ship exposed the vulnerability of global trade routes. It reopened the debate about alternative routes, including the opening of the Northern Sea Route via northern Russia, and the Northwest Passage via northern Canada. These routes, however, are not without their problems. Maximiliaan van Lange analyses the background and current thinking in this article for commonspace.eu.
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"Kafala" system scrapped in Saudi Arabia
15 March 2021
As part of the various reforms currently being implemented in Saudi Arabia, the sponsorship system for foreign labour, also known as the "Kafala" system, has been scrapped as of Sunday 14 March. The change was introduced as part of the Labour Reform Initiative (LRI) announced last November.
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Pandemic puts pressure on Gulf States sovereign wealth funds
19 February 2021
Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf countries are facing unprecedented challenges due to the rise of deficit and pressure to increase financial obligations to their public budgets. The drop in crude oil prices, caused by the pandemic last year, forced Gulf countries to increase their borrowing and thereby withdraw from their sovereign wealth funds.
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Azerbaijan to spend $59 billion to rehabilitate territories, but development also requires peace
17 February 2021
Azerbaijan plans to spend up to $59 billion over the next ten years to rehabilitate the territories it has recently taken back after being for decades under Armenian control. It is a huge sum even for an oil rich country, but for President Ilham Aliyev developing the new territories now has become the primary mission of his presidency.
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Bahrain looks forward to reopening of King Fahd Causeway to ease post-Covid economic recovery
16 February 2021
Bahrain expects a quick return to pre-pandemic levels in tourist arrivals when the Gulf island nation reopens the King Fahd Causeway which links it to Saudi Arabia. The causeway was scheduled to open on 31 March, but that has now been delayed to 17 May. The causeway has been closed since 8 March of last year.
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Russia tripled its gold exports in 2020
16 February 2021
Russia tripled its gold exports in 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic had made oil and gas revenues plummet, the Russian newspaper Izvestia writes. However this year is not expected to be so good for gold producers. According to economists at Morgan Stanley weak inflation, coupled with an improving economic outlook, will continue to weigh on gold prices.
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Amsterdam replaces London as Europe's leading stock trading centre after Brexit
11 February 2021