{"id":106315,"date":"2025-08-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/this-morning-president-mohamed-bin-zayed-al-nahyan-kicks-off-russia-visit-pakistan-mart-is-coming\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T00:00:00","slug":"this-morning-president-mohamed-bin-zayed-al-nahyan-kicks-off-russia-visit-pakistan-mart-is-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2025\/08\/07\/this-morning-president-mohamed-bin-zayed-al-nahyan-kicks-off-russia-visit-pakistan-mart-is-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan kicks off Russia visit + Pakistan Mart is coming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, lovely people. <\/strong>Things have quieted down slightly on the news front, with the big stories of the day being IHC trimming its stake in Adani Energy further \u2014 and Dubai\u2019s home prices showing no signs of cooling down. <\/p>\n

Plus: Emaar<\/strong> is out with its 2Q 2025 earnings, along with Adnoc Gas<\/strong>, Dubai Islamic Bank<\/strong>, Agthia<\/strong>, and more. <\/p>\n

WEATHER-<\/strong> Today will see mostly cloudy skies with a chance of afternoon showers east and south, according to the National Center of Meteorology (pdf)<\/a>. Expect a high of 42\u00b0C in Dubai<\/strong>, with a low of 33\u00b0C, while Abu Dhabi<\/strong> will see a high of 45\u00b0C, with an overnight low of 35\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY- <\/p>\n

<\/a> President Al Nahyan meets<\/strong> Putin in Russia: <\/strong>President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today to discuss bilateral cooperation, according to the Kremlin\u2019s website<\/a>. Talks will focus on expanding economic, trade, and energy ties, along with addressing regional and global issues of mutual concern, state news agency Wam<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE- <\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Standard Chartered is the latest to throw its economic forecast for the UAE in the <\/strong>ring<\/strong>, with the international lender cited as saying the economy could grow by 5% in 2025, before decelerating to 4% over the next two years by Khaleej Times<\/a>. \u201cWe continue to observe that geopolitical risks can lead to short-term sentiment jitters, but they do not appear to influence long-term trends in markets or investment flows,\u201d Khaleej Times quotes Manpreet Gill, chief investment officer of Africa, Middle East and Europe, Standard Chartered as saying. \u201cThe long-term focus remains very much on the region being a growth bright spot in a world where headline growth remains tepid in many regions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

How this compares: <\/strong>This is an optimistic forecast when compared to others like the Central Bank of the UAE, which penciled in 4.4% growth this year and 5.4% growth in 2026. Fitch Solutions\u2019 research unit BMI also recently lowered<\/a> its GDP growth forecast for the UAE to 4.3% in 2025, while the IMF also recently maintained<\/a> its UAE-wide growth forecast at 4% for 2025. The World Bank raised<\/a> its GDP growth forecast for the UAE to 4.6% in 2025, citing increased oil production and non-oil momentum.<\/p>\n

On inflation: <\/strong>Standard Chartered sees inflation in the UAE stabilizing at 3% this year and the following two years, while the current account balance is expected to reach 7% of GDP this year, before rising to 8% in 2026 and 10% 2027. This is higher than the Central Bank of the UAE\u2019s forecast, which sees it coming in at 1.9%. Meanwhile, the IMF expects it to come in at 2.1% in 2025. <\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- Abu Dhabi to franchise the US\u2019 Sphere Venues across MENA?<\/strong> Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism (DET) obtained exclusive rights to develop and operate venues by NYC-based Sphere Entertainment<\/a> across MENA for at least 10 years, according to a filing<\/a> to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The agreement with Sphere Entertainment Group includes plans for Sphere Abu Dhabi<\/a>, the second global location after Las Vegas, announced last year.<\/p>\n

The details:<\/strong> The agreement requires DET to pay initiation fees and ongoing royalties based on ticket sales. Sphere Entertainment will provide technology licenses and operational support.<\/p>\n

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#3- We\u2019re getting a <\/strong>Pakistan<\/strong> Mart: <\/strong>State-owned logistics giant DP World is partnering with Pakistan\u2019s government to build a Pakistan Mart near Jebel Ali, Arab News<\/a> reports, quoting government officials. The facility will come at no cost to the Pakistan government and will showcase Pakistani goods for international buyers, akin to Bharat Mart \u2014 which will showcase Indian goods and for which development works are underway<\/a> \u2014 and Turk Mart<\/a> for Turkish traders. The timeline for the development has not been disclosed. <\/p>\n

<\/a> #4- Infinity Power ink agreements for landmark solar projects in C\u00f4te d'Ivoire:<\/strong> Our friends at Infinity Power \u2014 a joint venture between renewables giant Masdar and Egypt\u2019s Infinity \u2014 have signed two concession agreements with the government of C\u00f4te d'Ivoire to build two solar plants with a total capacity of 80 MW in Touba and Laboa, the company said in a press release (pdf)<\/a>. The agreements, part of the World Bank\u2019s Scaling Solar initiative, mark Infinity Power\u2019s first collaboration with C\u00f4te d'Ivoire and are set to supply electricity to over 400k people. The projects also include the construction of 17 km of transmission lines to connect the plants to the national grid.<\/p>\n

#5- <\/strong>Lukoil shifts Dubai trading ops amid sanctions pressure: <\/strong>Russian oil firm Lukoil is moving its regional trading business from Litasco Middle East DMCC (LME) to a newly formed Dubai entity, Alghaf Marine DMCC, Reuters<\/a> reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The transaction follows UK sanctions on LME and EU measures against its shipping arm, Eiger Shipping, in July after it reportedly considered sanctioning LME itself in May<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new entity: <\/strong>Alghaf Marine was incorporated on 31 December 2024 and received an oil trading license in May. It is already active in fuel shipments, including Russian cargoes. The license allows it to trade crude and refined products abroad, as well as oilfield equipment.<\/p>\n

DATA POINTS- <\/p>\n

#1- <\/strong>Young people<\/strong> now make up half of the UAE\u2019s workforce<\/strong>, state news agency Wam<\/a> reports, citing statements from Human Resources and Emiratization Minister Abdulrahman Al Awar at the G20 labor and employment ministers\u2019 meeting in South Africa. Meanwhile, women are now in 66% of roles in UAE government entities \u2014 with over 30% in leadership roles \u2014 and the share of Emiratis in the workforce has jumped by 325% since the launch of the Nafis employment initiative in 2021, he said. <\/p>\n

#2- <\/strong>Dubai construction on the up:<\/strong> Dubai Municipality processed over 30k building permit applications in 1H 2025, up 20% y-o-y, with more than 5.5 mn sqm of licensed built-up area approved for execution, according to Dubai Media Office<\/a>. Commercial and investment projects made up 45% of total approved space, while residential villas accounted for 40% and the rest went to industrial and public buildings. <\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-<\/p>\n

Front pages are dominated this morning with major trade shake-ups from the White <\/strong>House<\/strong>, a critical turning point in the Gaza war, and a mixed bag of corporate earnings.<\/p>\n

Trump escalates tariff blitz on India and chips: <\/strong>US President Donald Trump raised tariffs on<\/a>India to 50%<\/a> to take effect starting 27 August, a punishment for its purchases of Russian oil which the White House says is fueling the war in Ukraine. Trump also said he is planning a potential 100% tariff on semiconductor chips<\/a> from countries that do not have manufacturing operations in the US, a move seen as targeting China.<\/p>\n

Tailored for Apple: <\/strong>The iPhone maker will be exempted from the potentially crippling chip tariff<\/a> after CEO Tim Cook announced the company would increase its investment in US suppliers and jobs.<\/p>\n

MEANWHILE- Earnings season pushes on:<\/strong><\/p>\n