All Countries and All Sectors

With a move to become one of the first countries to offer non-Latin language scripts in domain names, Qatar is pushing forward with efforts to help accelerate the development of e-services and e-commerce environments throughout the Arabic-speaking world. In February, the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) announced that its website had became the first to use a Qatar-specific domain name in Arabic, with more Arabic domains set to be available for government entities and registered trademark holders starting in March.

The health care industry has moved front and centre of the development agenda throughout the Gulf and wider Middle Eastern region. The industry’s resilience to the effects of the global economic crisis over the past two years has whetted the appetite of private investors, while governments are concerned about growing demographic pressure on social services.

L’industrie marocaine du textile, longtemps une source essentielle des exportations, se remet des dernières difficultés rencontrées et affiche désormais des signes de reprise du fait de la hausse de la demande extérieure, (qui a été) soutenue par les efforts conjoints du gouvernement et de groupes industriels. De plus, le gouvernement envisage une série de politiques de compensations industrielles afin de renforcer l’industrie locale et encourager le transfert de technologies, ce qui devrait avoir des effets stimulants sur le secteur du textile.

The retail sector in Saudi Arabia appears set for solid medium-term growth, with sales and turnover expected to rise steadily in the coming years as the public begins benefitting from a greater range of product lines and more shopping centres.

On February 27, when outlining his government’s proposed plan of action, Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit told parliament that he was firmly committed to extending financial support to the nation’s universities to overcome any funding shortfalls and to continue to expand their activities. Directing more energy and money towards courses that meet the needs of the economy will help give Jordan’s education system a sharper focus and provide students with the skills required to find employment after graduation.

Economic expansion and upcoming real estate regulations look set to help Abu Dhabi’s property market, where lower investor demand and an increase in residential and office supply have combined to encourage a drop in rental rates.