Research & Commentary Results

Even as a growing number of Arab and African states look to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance to help counter the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Algeria has made it clear it will not follow suit. Despite the fiscal challenges, economic crisis, social unrest, and public health emergency, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has insisted that Algeria will not seek a loan to ease the country’s socio-economic woes.

COVID-19 is a humanitarian problem, and containing the pandemic as soon as possible is an urgent obligation to save human lives. Yet we have to deal with the economic fallout from the pandemic just as urgently because the costs are substantial.

The growing U.S. strategic reliance on India has fomented closer bilateral ties between China and Pakistan, straining the U.S.-Pakistan relationship.

The lifting of lockdown restrictions could lead to a spike in cases for which the country is ill prepared.

The momentum of the BRI has lately slackened due to a variety of setbacks and disruptions. Until now, China has made headway in executing BRI-related projects in the Middle East despite such problems. Plummeting oil prices coupled with the onset of the worldwide public health and economic crises triggered by the covid-19 pandemic could result in scaled back plans and delayed implementation of BRI projects in the region. But China is not about to abandon the effort to extend the Maritime Silk Road to the Middle East — nor are its most avid regional partners. 

A possible influx of returnees from the Gulf swelling the ranks of the unemployed is bad enough, but it also comes with a serious complication — the possible loss of remittances.

On May 12, 2020, MEI hosted Dr. Mohammed Shtayyeh, Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, for a roundtable discussion on the many crises facing Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority.

While COVID-19 and historically low oil prices are disrupting the Gulf’s political economy, the pandemic has demonstrated the region’s tech resilience.

Six scholars from across MEI take a closer look at the challenges facing Iraq’s new prime minister, from the protest movement and Baghdad-Erbil relations to the balancing act between Washington and Tehran.

There are early signs that it may be possible to turn the page in the difficult relationship between Erbil and Baghdad

The protests are a reminder to the new PM that anger is real and has not dissipated.

The big question is, what is Baghdad expected to concede in return for Trump’s investment?

Despite an unprecedented global slump, this is hardly an ideal time to cut into social spending.

A perceived lessening of the U.S. security umbrella would leave the Saudis far more vulnerable regionally and could force additional policy adjustments.

The central bank has depleted its reserves dramatically by funding state bank interventions in defense of the lira.