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The UAE has seen distinctly mixed results from the six Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements that it has brought into force over the past two years. Trade with India has been growing at a slower pace than trade with the rest of the world and other deals have also been underperforming, as the easing of tariffs and other trade restrictions rubs up against broader geopolitical and macroeconomic issues.

In late July, just as the UAE was wrapping up several of its latest bilateral free trade deals, a GCC delegation was in Ankara from 29-31 July for the first round of discussions on a free trade deal with Türkiye.  That was soon followed on 1 August by the official launch of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the GCC and Indonesia.

The UAE has been clamping down hard on opposition figures this year, in what appears to be an increasingly repressive domestic political arena. A mass trial ended in July with the conviction of 53 people – many of them still behind bars from a 2013 court case. Abu Dhabi now says it has identified a new secret group of exiles operating outside the country trying to stir up trouble back home.

The federal gambling regulator awarded a licence to run the UAE’s first authorised national lottery to a relative unknown in late July, leaving existing operators searching for new business models.

The appointment of Sheikh Theyab Bin Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan as chairman of the Dubai Financial Market-listed construction company Drake & Scull International is part of the business rehabilitation of a veteran gulf contracting company.

Persistent budget deficits and the rapid depletion of the General Reserve Fund are prompting the Kuwaiti government to consider some potentially unpopular moves to restrict state spending.

Listed subsidiaries of Sheikh Tahnoun’s Investment Holding Company have had a tough first half of the year, with Multiply Group reporting a large loss and sister companies Alpha Dhabi and Emirates Stallions Group announcing sharp drops in profits.

Saudi Arabia has outlined the details of its bid to host the 2034 football tournament, in bid documents that were formally submitted to the sport’s governing body Fifa in late July.

After years of minimal progress, plans to introduce personal income tax in Oman appear to be moving forward, with a draft law passed from the lower house of parliament to the upper house in late June. If it goes ahead, it will be the first income tax in the GCC and could provide a model for Muscat’s neighbours to follow.

Abu Dhabi’s Al-Sayegh Group, best known for its electronics distribution business, has expanded its interests in Africa with a cashew processing plant.

The Dubai-based low-cost carrier has complained that years of delivery delays by Boeing have “significantly impacted” its operations and are likely to negatively affect its financial performance this year.

United Al-Saqer Group, best known for its car dealerships, has bought into UK visual effects studio DNEG – the second major UAE-UK media deal in a matter of months.

The Trump Organization has struck a licensing deal with London-listed Dar Global over the development of the Trump Tower Jeddah. It is the second partnership between the two companies, following the Aida real estate project in Oman.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Gulf fell by 6% in 2023, but remained near its all-time high, according to the latest data released by the United Nations’ trade and development arm Unctad.

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has agreed with Greece’s Gek Terna to buy a 67% stake in renewable energy company Terna Energy, at a cost of some $3.5bn.