The Middle East

Faced with rising energy consumption, Turkey’s government has moved to meet growing demand by sealing a key gas pipeline deal with neighbouring Azerbaijan and stepping up efforts to diversify its power sources away from hydrocarbons imports.

Efforts to expand the reach of broadband internet to encompass the entire country are expected to help Oman meet the needs of its growing economy, but the sheer size of the country and the scope of laying out necessary infrastructure present significant challenges.

With strong consumer confidence and a sound economic outlook for the immediate future, Saudi Arabia’s retail sector appears set for a good year of trading. Concerns over rising inflation, particularly with Ramadan underway, however, mean that consumers may begin eyeing price tags more carefully.

The limestone deposits of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), along with the emirate’s five ports, an airport and good road links to the rest of the UAE and GCC, have enabled the emirate to develop a substantial industrial sector, most notably in ceramics. Indeed, despite facing rising costs and uncertainty in overseas markets, RAK’s flagship industrial manufacturer recently reached a major milestone.

The California-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has published the long-awaited list of organisations seeking to obtain new generic top-level domains (gTLDs), commonly recognised as internet address endings or suffixes. Dubai eGovernment (DeG) is one of the more than 1900 applicants for gTLDs and is hoping to secure the recently dubbed dotDubai suffix.

The emirate of Ajman is looking to broaden its tourism horizons, investing in new upmarket resorts and facilities while also hoping to attract a greater slice of the UAE’s business and conference trade. It will, however, have to compete with many of its near neighbours, which have already established a strong position in the market and have the infrastructure needed to support their tourism industries.