Gulf

1. Trump’s Gaza summit
2. Saudi courts retail investors
3. Abu Dhabi marriage by app
4. Goop for Gen-Z Saudis
5. Aramco’s crude victory lap
6. Abraham Accords endure

What to expect at Art Basel Doha.

Leaders gather for Gaza summit

More than 20 countries are expected to participate in an “International Peace Summit” in Sharm El-Sheikh today, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and US President Donald Trump. The meeting aims to build a global coalition to stabilize Gaza after hostilities ceased last week and Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages on Monday. Israel’s parliament chanted Trump’s name during his Knesset address in Jerusalem shortly before this briefing hits your inbox, after which he will travel to Sharm El-Sheikh. Egypt, along with Qatar and Türkiye, has served as a key mediator throughout the two-year Gaza war.

Qatar’s prime minister told The New York Times that reaching the Trump Peace Initiative required extensive negotiations, with tougher issues such as Hamas’ disarmament deferred to later talks. Analysts remain skeptical the agreement will be fully implemented, though its first phase is proceeding as planned. Leaders from Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Spain, Türkiye, and the UK are among those expected to attend today’s summit. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend because the meeting coincides with a Jewish holiday.

Retail allotments rise in Saudi IPOs

Saudi Arabia’s stock market regulator is encouraging firms planning initial public offerings to allocate more shares to retail investors, part of a broader effort to boost liquidity. The Capital Market Authority has informally asked several companies planning IPOs to set aside about 30% of shares for individual investors, up from the usual 10–20%, according to three people with knowledge of the plans.

Current rules leave the allocation decision to issuers and financial advisers. The Saudi regulator has kickstarted several measures aimed at boosting liquidity in recent weeks in order to stimulate activity and attract a wider investor base to the kingdom’s stocks, which has underperformed emerging market peers.

— Matthew Martin

Abu Dhabi says ‘I do’

Abu Dhabi is rolling out marriage rites by smartphone. Starting this week, the government-run super app TAMM will offer marriage services — from identity authentication, to booking the officiant, and hosting the virtual ceremony — all from one’s smartphone. The process can be done in a day and costs 800 dirhams ($217), a spokesperson told Semafor. The service, overseen by the Abu Dhabi courts authority, will be available to UAE citizens, residents, and visitors. The new service is a sign of the times for the UAE capital, where billions of dollars in technology investments — broadly aimed at improving quality of life for the expat-hungry emirate — are converging, in part, on this government-run app.

— Kelsey Warner

PIF is backing a Goop for Saudi women

Kayanee, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund-backed athleisure and wellness brand, has already gained fans among millennial and Gen-Z Saudi women. Now it plans to expand across the Gulf and launch a wellness app in 2026.

Founded in 2023 by Princess Reema bint Bandar, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US, Kayanee’s rollout begins this month in Riyadh with a speaker series and masterclasses on stress, food, and sleep, Abeer Alfouti, the company’s executive director, said in an interview.

Its abaya-inspired athleisure nods to Saudi traditions (marked by the loose robes worn by women), while smoothies and green juices complete the Gwyneth Paltrow, Goop-style vibe. Kayanee’s granola bars and smoothies will soon be served on Riyadh Air flights and at Red Sea resorts — both owned by PIF, which is positioning itself at the center of the kingdom’s wellness push.

— Manal Albarakati

Fossil fuels to power AI revolution

Fossil fuels, not renewables, will power the surge in electricity demand driven by electric vehicles and data centers, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said Monday in his latest broadside at the renewables industry. “While the icons of the transition are still clearly stuck in first gear, hydrocarbons are largely carrying the extra load,” Nasser told an industry conference. “This is not a true energy transition; it’s an energy addition.”

He warned that a power “demand tsunami” from AI and EV growth is forcing governments to backtrack on climate goals.

Separately, Aramco has put three domestic chemicals plants on hold as it shifts capital spending toward expansion in Asia, Bloomberg reported. The plants in the kingdom were designed to convert crude oil directly into chemical products. Those projects were at earlier stages than the ones in Asia, and the company has been borrowing to cover its huge dividends — mostly to the Saudi government — amid lower oil prices.

— Matthew Martin

View / UAE’s ‘quiet diplomacy’ delivers

The UAE’s engagement with Israel and its “quiet diplomacy” were crucial in reaching the Trump Peace Initiative, which includes the release of Israeli hostages and an end to the war in Gaza, Yossi Shelley, Ambassador of Israel to the United Arab Emirates, writes in a column for Semafor.

“The UAE has proven to be a true partner for peace with Israel, demonstrating that peace should be accomplished not by applying pressure, but through understanding and mutual benefit,” Shelley wrote. The Abraham Accords “demonstrated resilience in turbulent times, proving that genuine peace can endure even under challenging circumstances.”

Barbara Humpton, CEO, USA Rare Earth, will join the stage at the Fall Edition of Semafor’s World Economy Summit. Hosted in the Gallup Great Hall and spanning eight sessions over two days, the summit will feature on-the-record interviews on the state of global growth and finance, AI advancements, powering global energy needs, and the forces reshaping the world economy.

Each session brings together the leaders and forces most directly shaping the global economy, with programming powered by Semafor’s world-class editorial and executive leadership.

Oct. 15 & 16, 2025 | Washington, DC | Request Invitation

Art

• The Gulf’s next showdown is cultural. Months after Art Basel announced its debut in Doha, one of its competitors, Frieze, revealed plans for its first edition in the region, Frieze Abu Dhabi, launching in November 2026.

Diplomacy

• The debut Russia-Arab conference, scheduled to be held in Moscow on Oct. 15, has been indefinitely postponed. Not enough Arab leaders accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation, as the region coalesces around US President Donald Trump’s initiatives in the Middle East. — Bloomberg

Private Equity

• BlueFive Capital, which raised $2 billion earlier this year for its first private equity fund, has expanded into Oman, opening an office in Muscat. It said Oman’s sovereign wealth fund is among its founding shareholders.

Regulation

• Saudi Arabia continues its crackdown on illegal immigrants with 12,000 arrested and deported within a week. Most were Yemeni and Ethiopian nationals. — Saudi Gazette

Stocks

• Classified ads platform Dubizzle Group plans to proceed with a planned initial public offering and list its shares on the Dubai Financial Market. The company achieved unicorn status in 2020 after a funding round led by Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. Emirates NBD, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and Morgan Stanley are advising on the IPO.

Space

• Three satellites from Abu Dhabi’s Space42 are US-bound for launch, in a boon to the UAE space industry and adding capacity for disaster preparedness and climate monitoring.