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34 Saudi Companies Promote Products to 140 Iraqi Firms

Bilateral meetings between Saudi and Iraqi companies in Erbil. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Bilateral meetings between Saudi and Iraqi companies in Erbil. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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34 Saudi Companies Promote Products to 140 Iraqi Firms

Bilateral meetings between Saudi and Iraqi companies in Erbil. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Bilateral meetings between Saudi and Iraqi companies in Erbil. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Exports Development Authority organized Tuesday a trade mission to the city of Erbil, Iraq, under the identity of “Made in Saudi Arabia.”

The authority promoted non-oil exporters and their goods, advanced the competitiveness of products from the Kingdom on global markets, and explored new trade cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

More than 34 Saudi companies and 140 Iraqi firms from a variety of sectors, most notably building materials, food products, and packaging, participated in the trade mission.

The mission included bilateral meetings and memoranda of understanding between the Saudi and Iraqi sides.

Participants were also able to benefit from the services provided by relevant government agencies supporting the mission, including the Saudi Export and Import Bank and the Food and Drug Authority.

This allowed businesses to reach agreements to expand exports and find new markets for their products.

This trade trip is an extension of the activities Saudi Exports has been organizing in Iraq, where it participated in several major exhibitions on multiple occasions, including the Baghdad International Exhibition and Erbil Build Expo.

Also, it coordinated the activities of several Saudi-Iraqi trade missions.

This reflects the commitment of Saudi Exports to promoting exporters and providing numerous promotional platforms that connect them with potential customers and partners in the regional and global markets.

By creating several opportunities, Saudi Exports is also contributing to raising the proportion of Saudi non-oil exports to at least 50 percent of the non-oil gross domestic product by 2030.

The Kingdom’s non-oil exports to Iraq amounted to SAR 14.8 billion ($3.95 billion) over the last five years. With a value of SAR 4.42 billion ($1.1 billion), the construction materials industry was the top exporting sector during the time, followed by the food products sector with SAR 4.04 billion (more than $1 billion).

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Egypt’s Non-Oil Private Sector Contracted in February as Costs Rose

Egyptians walk past a poster depicting US dollars and other currencies outside an exchange office in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (AP)
Egyptians walk past a poster depicting US dollars and other currencies outside an exchange office in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (AP)
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Egypt’s Non-Oil Private Sector Contracted in February as Costs Rose

Egyptians walk past a poster depicting US dollars and other currencies outside an exchange office in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (AP)
Egyptians walk past a poster depicting US dollars and other currencies outside an exchange office in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (AP)

Egypt's non-oil ‌private sector output contracted in February for the first time in four months, as demand softened and cost pressures intensified, S&P Global reported on Wednesday.

The headline Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 48.9 in February from 49.8 in January, remaining below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction. ‌Despite the decline, ‌the PMI was above ‌its ⁠long-run average of ⁠48.3.

Output declined for the first time since October, and all five sub-components of the PMI indicated a weakening in business conditions compared to January.

"The February PMI data pointed ⁠to a slowdown in ‌the Egyptian non-oil ‌private sector as activity curtailed and new ‌order volumes weakened," said David Owen, ‌Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

New orders saw a modest contraction, with downturns in manufacturing, wholesale & retail, and services, ‌while construction experienced an increase in new work. Employment fell for ⁠the ⁠third consecutive month, albeit at a slower pace, as firms implemented hiring freezes and job cuts.

Cost pressures accelerated, driven by rising global commodity prices, notably oil and metals, leading to the sharpest increase in business costs in nine months. Despite this, selling prices remained largely unchanged, with only a small fraction of firms passing on the higher costs to customers.

Business

ECB's Chief Economist Warns Euro Zone Inflation Could Surge on Lengthy Iran War

FILE PHOTO: A view of the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/File Photo
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ECB's Chief Economist Warns Euro Zone Inflation Could Surge on Lengthy Iran War

FILE PHOTO: A view of the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch/File Photo

A prolonged war in the Middle East could cause a substantial spike in euro zone inflation and reduce economic growth, European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane told the Financial Times in an interview published on Tuesday.

A US and Israeli war against Iran widened on Monday, with no end in sight as Israel attacked Lebanon and Iran kept up its attacks on Gulf states, pushing up oil prices by over 10%.

"Directionally, a jump in energy prices puts upward pressure on inflation, especially in the ⁠near-term, and such ⁠a conflict would be negative for economic activity," Lane said.

"The scale of the impact and the implications for medium-term inflation depend on the breadth and duration of the conflict," he said, adding that the ECB would monitor the situation.

Previous sensitivity analyses done by the ECB showed ⁠that such a war would lead to a 'substantial spike' in energy-driven inflation and a 'sharp drop' in output, if there was a persistent drop in energy supplies out of the region, Lane said.

A separate analysis by the ECB from December meanwhile suggests that a permanent oil price spike of this magnitude could lift inflation by 0.5 percentage point and lower growth by 0.1 percentage point.

Euro zone inflation now stands at 1.7%, below the bank's 2% target, ⁠suggesting that ⁠a small jump in price growth is unlikely to trigger policy action, especially since monetary policy acts with long lags and is considered powerless against near-term swings in prices.

The ECB also tends to look past energy-induced volatility in prices as long as fluctuations do not impact longer-term expectations and do not seep into underlying inflation via second-round effects.

For now, market-based longer-term inflation expectations are little changed and markets continue to expect no change in the ECB's 2% deposit rate all year.

Business

Sources: Japan in Talks with India to Explore for Rare Earths

FILE PHOTO: Blocks with symbols and atomic numbers of Rare Earth Elements (REE) in this illustration taken February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Blocks with symbols and atomic numbers of Rare Earth Elements (REE) in this illustration taken February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Sources: Japan in Talks with India to Explore for Rare Earths

FILE PHOTO: Blocks with symbols and atomic numbers of Rare Earth Elements (REE) in this illustration taken February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Blocks with symbols and atomic numbers of Rare Earth Elements (REE) in this illustration taken February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Japan is in talks with India to jointly explore rare earth deposits in the desert state of Rajasthan, two people familiar with the discussions said, as Tokyo seeks to reduce reliance on China for supplies critical to magnet manufacturing.

Last month, India's Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy said three hard rock rare earth deposits containing 1.29 million metric tons of rare earth oxides had been identified in Rajasthan and Gujarat state in western India.

Following on a preliminary pact on critical minerals that Japan and India signed last year, Tokyo has expressed interest in ⁠the Rajasthan deposits ⁠and plans to send experts to the site, said the sources, who are directly involved in the decision-making. They declined to be named as the deliberations were not public.

They did not say when those experts were due to arrive.

In Rajasthan, the Japanese government would be looking to provide technology for extraction as well as funding in exchange for a stable offtake of rare earths ⁠to be taken to Japan, the sources said, adding that hard rock deposits required extraction techniques that India does not have currently.

India's Ministry of Mines and the Japanese embassy did not respond to Reuters emails seeking comment.

Japan is examining mining projects worldwide to diversify mineral supplies, including rare earths, Naoki Kobayashi, deputy director at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), told Reuters. However, Kobayashi denied any discussion on specific corporate partnerships or technology provision in Rajasthan.

Like Japan, India wants to cut dependence on Chinese imports by developing industrial-scale facilities to process rare earth elements to high purity levels, again with Japan potentially offering ⁠the necessary technology.

Rare ⁠earths are essential for permanent magnets - used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, fighter jets and drones - critical for India, the world's fastest-growing major economy.

Last week, China prohibited the export of dual-use items - materials that can serve both civilian and military purposes - to 20 Japanese entities that Beijing says supply Japan's military, in the latest escalation of a dispute with Tokyo.

The move effectively cuts Japanese companies off from the seven rare earth elements and associated materials currently on China's dual-use control list, along with a swathe of other controlled critical minerals.

Apart from rare earths, Japan is seeking collaboration with Indian companies to explore lithium, copper and cobalt in Africa, one of the sources said.