MENA's economic centre of gravity is shifting. The Gulf Cooperation Council states (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman) have moved from being primarily energy economies toward being diversified service-and-knowledge economies — Dubai's free zones (DIFC, JAFZA, Dubai South, the 30+ specialised zones), Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 megaprojects (NEOM, Red Sea, Qiddiya, ROSHN), Qatar's post-FIFA economic-diversification programme, and the broader regional financial-services hubs (DIFC, ADGM, QFC) compete actively for talent and capital. The Levant (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq) faces ongoing reconstruction and stabilisation challenges. Egypt is the largest Arab economy by population and a substantial regional player in agriculture, manufacturing, financial services and Suez-Canal-related logistics. The Maghreb (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania) bridges to sub-Saharan Africa and is integrating with Europe via the Mediterranean dialogues.
The MENA view per subject documents the major hubs (Dubai for financial services and trade; Riyadh for energy and Vision 2030; Doha for finance and energy; Cairo for the Arab world's largest market; Casablanca for finance and aerospace; Tel Aviv for tech and venture capital), the credential-recognition pathways into the regulated professions (which differ substantially by country and are particularly important for medicine, nursing, engineering, law and accounting), the migration regimes (the Gulf states' kafala-system reforms in progress, the UAE Golden Visa, Saudi Premium Residency, Qatar permanent-residency, plus the substantial expat-on-employer-sponsorship regime), and the freelance-and-remote-work options (the UAE's Green Visa for freelancers, Dubai's Virtual Working Programme, the Egypt and Morocco digital-nomad initiatives).
MENA also hosts the world's most internationalised expat-professional ecosystems. The Gulf states alone employ millions of expat professionals across every major subject, with Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Filipino, Egyptian, Lebanese, Jordanian, British, American, French and Italian professionals among the largest cohorts. The MENA view documents these flows per subject — where the demand is, where the credential bridges are easiest, and how the post-employment lifecycle (savings, repatriation, second-act careers) typically plays out.