Tag: Qatar
Qatar’s World Cup Gives Hope to Other Aspiring Countries
Qatar’s bid to host this year’s World Cup was always going to be controversial: the summers are too hot; there are not enough stadiums, hotels, and other necessary facilities; the country does not have a football culture. Still, the question of money and its influence in football should not overshadow the globalization of the sport. This World Cup is likely the prologue to more star Arab football players and maybe another Arab country hosting it…
Higher Oil Prices Come At The Right Time for the Middle East…
Oil recently touched above $70 and continues to hover above $60 today. The uptick is a welcome breath of fresh air into the Middle East (financial) ecosystem. The new cash inflow is and will continue to allow the regional states to underwrite new financing in their banking sectors and evade the 2009-esque fallout as banks today effectively bridge finance regional corporates to 2022 (…or potentially 2023)…
Africa and the Middle East: Proxy wars or economic partnerships
Many observers go as far criticising many Arab states for building asymmetrical relationships, where African states are acting on behalf of Arab states simply for large sums of cash. There is some truth in that thinking. But the reality is that policy-makers in African countries have to make their own policy decisions and govern their own borders…
