India and Iran will develop ties within constraints

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Content Type

Significance Jaishankar was visiting Iran for the second time in a month, having stopped over on his way to Russia on July 7. Delhi and Tehran have long had good relations, but ties have been somewhat strained in recent years because of tensions between Tehran and key Indian partner Washington. Impacts India will deepen engagement with Iran’s enemies Israel and Saudi Arabia as part of its balanced Middle East diplomacy. Iran will promote integration of the Chabahar port with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, overlooking Indian objections to such a move. Delhi-Washington security ties will grow stronger.

Imran Khan is likely to become Pakistan prime minister

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Military

Significance The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s five-year term ended on May 31. PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif faces a tough fight to become prime minister, with the main challenge set to come from Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and further opposition provided by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Impacts With Khan as prime minister, the military would likely have free rein to pursue an anti-India foreign policy. Khan would step up his criticisms of the war in Afghanistan and likely have a difficult relationship with US President Donald Trump. Pakistan under any government will pursue balanced diplomacy in the Middle East, seeking good ties with both Saudi Arabia and Iran.

UAE will pursue foreign activism despite rising risks

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Humanitarian Intervention ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Standing ◽  
Roll Back

Significance UAE forces were vital to the coalition's taking of Aden and southern Yemen from Huthi control in July. The UAE's strong military commitment to the Saudi-led drive to roll back the Huthis is part of the Gulf state's more assertive and interventionist policy as it seeks to contain Iranian and Islamist influence in the post-2011 Middle East. However, greater interventionism brings with it significant risks for the UAE, particularly for its military capabilities, international standing and political stability. Impacts The UAE's strong record on external humanitarian intervention will facilitate international reconstruction efforts in Yemen. In the longer term, Abu Dhabi will seek a greater decision-making role in internal Yemeni affairs. Relations with Saudi Arabia may face strain if UAE fighting capabilities continues to outshine those of Saudi troops and Yemeni militias. Gulf unity may begin to fray if the Yemen campaign returns to stalemate or coalition casualties mount.

Divergent goals will rock Saudi-Egyptian relations

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Gulf War ◽  
Oil Products ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Refined Oil ◽  
Regional Order

Significance The oil shipments were part of a five-year deal that Saudi would provide Egypt with 700,000 tonnes of refined oil products per month, but these were stopped in early October amid a row over Egypt's position towards Syria. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt have served as a bedrock of stability in the Middle East for much of the period since the second Gulf War (1990-91), but this subset of the regional order now appears in jeopardy. Impacts If Riyadh withholds investments or future assistance, the Egyptian economy may deteriorate even further. Should Egypt's economic crisis deepen, its political stability outlook would look uncertain at best and unsustainable at worst. This crisis compounds the Kingdom's recent regional setbacks, as the Syrian and Yemeni wars slide towards unfavourable outcomes for Riyadh.

A new OPEC+ deal would not resolve Russia's problems

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Oil Prices ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Global Demand ◽  
Price Management ◽  
Price War

Significance As the COVID-19 pandemic depressed Chinese and global demand for oil, Russia and Saudi Arabia broke off their three-year price management agreement, sending prices tumbling. Moscow insists it can weather the storm, but low oil prices further complicate the adverse economic conditions stemming from COVID-19. Russia has the funding sources to prop up its budget, but this implies abandoning ambitious plans to invest in growth and development. Impacts The disintegration of OPEC+ would undermine Russia's wider attempts to win political partners in the Middle East. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed up to OPEC+ but are less willing or able to side with Russia in a price war. Rosneft's divestment of its Venezuelan assets shows a greater sensitivity to sanctions risks in a tougher market.

scholarly journals Testing the productivity bias hypothesis in Middle East countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 922-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferda Halicioglu ◽  
Natalya Ketenci
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Distributed Lag ◽  
Autoregressive Distributed Lag ◽  
Middle East Countries ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the validity of the productivity bias hypothesis (PBH) in 18 Middle East countries. Design/methodology/approach The paper employs autoregressive-distributed lag approach to cointegration approach and stability tests. Findings The empirical results suggest the existence of the PBH only in the case of Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Practical implications Conclusions drawn from this research could be useful for the policy-makers of governments and practitioners in international trade organizations. Originality/value This study extends the existing literature by providing initial empirical time series evidence of the PBH for the entire Middle East countries.

scholarly journals Epidemiology of Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the Middle East and North Africa Region

mSphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmood Al-Orphaly ◽  
Hamad Abdel Hadi ◽  
Faiha Kamaleldin Eltayeb ◽  
Hissa Al-Hail ◽  
Bincy Gladson Samuel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Antibiotic Prescribing ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Level ◽  
Genetic Profiles

ABSTRACT Over the last decades, there has been a dramatic global increase in multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens particularly among Gram-negative bacteria (GNB). Pseudomonas aeruginosa is responsible for various health care-associated infections, while MDR P. aeruginosa causes significant morbidity and mortality. Middle East and North Africa (MENA) represent an unexplored geographical region for the study of drug resistance since many of these countries are at crossroads of high volume of travel, diverse expatriate populations, as well as high antibiotic consumption despite attempts to implement antimicrobial stewardship programs. This minireview analyzes epidemiology, microbiological, and genomic characteristics of MDR P. aeruginosa in the MENA region. Published data on MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence, antimicrobial resistance patterns, and genetic profiles from studies published during the past 10 years from 19 MENA countries have been included in this minireview. There is wide variation in the epidemiology of MDR P. aeruginosa in the MENA region in terms of prevalence, antimicrobial characteristics, as well as genetic profiles. Overall, there is high prevalence of MDR P. aeruginosa seen in the majority of the countries in the MENA region with similarities between neighboring countries, which might reflect comparable population and antibiotic-prescribing cultures. Isolates from critical care units are significantly resistant particularly from certain countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Lebanon with high-level resistance to cephalosporins, carbapenems, and aminoglycosides. Colistin susceptibility patterns remains high apart from countries with high-level antibiotic resistance such as Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Egypt.

Middle East repression fears drive Islamist pragmatism

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Arab Uprisings ◽  
To Come ◽  
Islamist Movements

Significance Islamist movements saw rapid political successes in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab uprisings, but this was followed by the brutal repression of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood from July 2013. The movement has now been formally banned in Egypt (since December 2013), Saudi Arabia (since March 2014), and the United Arab Emirates (since November 2014). However, Islamists elsewhere are proving to be highly adaptable. Impacts The fall of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is still pushing Islamist movements in the region to act cautiously and pragmatically. Behind the scenes, Islamist leaders are divided as they try to revise their ideologies to accommodate the new post-2011 politics. Despite widespread challenges, Islamists are likely to remain important political actors across the region for years to come.

Deepening Saudi-Emirati cooperation may be divisive

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Strategic Partnership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inaugural Meeting ◽  
East Region ◽  
Middle East Region

Subject Saudi-Emirati strategic partnership. Significance The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia are accelerating their strategic partnership. On June 6 they held the inaugural meeting of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council (SECC), signalling increased assertiveness and a deliberate turning-away from the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The partnership has become pivotal for the region but has delivered mixed results. Impacts The new SECC will eclipse the troubled GCC as the driver of Gulf policies and may deter US efforts to convene a GCC summit in September. Excluded Kuwait and Oman may look for other regional ties, as they face increasing pressure from the Saudi-Emirati duo. The two countries’coordination against Iran will define long-term alliances in the Middle East region.

The impact of corporate social responsibility on earnings management practices: evidence from Saudi Arabia

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 1073-1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murya Habbash ◽  
Lara Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Arab Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Csr Disclosure ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between earnings management (EM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Saudi Arabia. It is one of only a small number of studies to examine this relationship outside the US market, and the first in the Middle East and Arab region, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses content analysis to extract the CSR disclosure items from annual reports of Saudi firms. A CSR disclosure index was then constructed. For EM, the residuals from Kothari et al.’s (2005) model are considered. Multivariate analysis was performed using pooled OLS-regression models to examine the direct relationship between EM and the CSR index. Findings Using panel data from all Saudi public firms listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) over the 2015-2016 period, the authors find that CSR is positively and significantly related to EM practices as proxied by discretionary accruals. This implies that Saudi firms undertaking CSR actions are more likely to manipulate their earnings. Research limitations/implications The findings of this paper have important policy implications for policy-makers, regulators, auditors and investors in their attempts to constrain EM practices and enhance the quality of financial reporting in Saudi Arabia. Originality/value This paper contributes to the body of accounting literature by providing the first empirical evidence in the Middle East and Arab region on the positive association between EM and CSR in Saudi Arabia.

Employee job satisfaction in engineering firms

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian W.Y. Tam ◽  
S.X. Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Employee Job Satisfaction ◽  
Middle East Countries ◽  
Engineering Firms ◽  
Opportunities For Promotion

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship among cultural values, using the dimension of power distance (PD), and employee job satisfaction in engineering firms in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach – A well-known leading survey design, the Value Survey Module 94 developed by Hofstede (1980), is used in measuring PD as a quantitative methodology in the form of a questionnaire survey in UAE and Saudi Arabia. Findings – Power distance index (PDI) show variation not only at country level, but also at firm level. Consultative is found to be the most preferred manager type by the employees. Employees perceiving their managers to be consultative are the least afraid of disagreement with their managers. “Work”, “co-workers” and “operating procedures” find to be the major job satisfaction facets while “opportunities for promotion” and “reward” are the least attracted to job satisfaction. Age is found positively correlated with “pay”, “work”, “opportunities for promotion” and “benefits”. “Work” and educational qualification of the employees are negatively correlated but no significant correlations appear to exist with other job satisfaction facets. No significant correlation existed between education level and PDI is found. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first studies on PD and job satisfaction in UAE and Saudi Arabia. This can provide significant insight of how the Middle East countries, UAE and Saudi Arabia, react with globalization in the recent years. Recommendations for improving the existing job satisfaction in the Middle East countries are also explored.

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