Amira Khalil

Writer,

icn.live

Amira Khalil writes for ICN.live since early 2024 and covers Health, AI trends, and global markets, with contributions to Finance Magnates, The National Business, and DailyMoney. Her writing reflects a strong interest in cultural change within digital economies. She studied Broadcast Journalism at Cairo University.

Ajman

Ajman Arbitration Centre and Higher Institute for Legal Training signed MoU

The Ajman Arbitration Centre at the Ajman Chamber has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Emirates Association for Lawyers and Legal Professionals and its training arm, the Higher Institute for Legal Training, to foster scientific and professional cooperation in legal fields, enhance joint efforts in developing the arbitration system and alternative Dispute Resolution methods, promote legal awareness, and qualify national competencies in the fields of arbitration.

The MoU was signed by Eng. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Muwaiji, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ajman Chamber, and Counsellor Zayed Saeed Al Shamsi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Association for Lawyers and Legal Professionals, at the chamber’s headquarters.

The signing ceremony was attended by Mahmoud Othman Abu Al Shawareb, Member of the Board of Directors of the Ajman Chamber; Hindi Obaid Al Matrooshi, Secretary-General of the Ajman Arbitration Centre; and Dr. Salam Al Issa, Director General of the Higher Institute for Legal Training.

Al Muwaiji commended the efforts of arbitrators and legal professionals in bolstering the competitiveness of the national economy. He also praised their pioneering role in delivering effective legal and arbitral solutions that accelerate commercial Dispute Resolution, thereby instilling confidence within the business community and fostering a secure and stable investment environment.

He emphasised that the Ajman Arbitration Centre is committed to broadening its partnerships and enhancing cooperation with various entities. This aims to reinforce its role as a sustainable and reliable arbitration platform for commercial and economic Dispute Resolution, keeping pace with the rapid growth across various economic sectors in accordance with the latest arbitration practices.

He commended the existing partnership between the Ajman Arbitration Centre and the Emirates Association for Lawyers and Legal Professionals, which contributes to raising awareness of the importance of arbitration and promoting its culture as an effective tool for facilitating business operations and Dispute Resolution with efficiency and flexibility.

Counsellor Al Shamsi provided an overview of the efforts and services of the Emirates Association for Lawyers and Legal Professionals, and the entities affiliated with the Association, including “the Higher Institute for Legal Training, the Emirates Centre for Legal Studies, the Emirates Centre for Human Rights Studies, and the Media Centre.”

The MoU stipulated enhancing joint cooperation between the two parties in legal training and qualification, and arbitration; cooperating in developing the professional capacities of legal professionals; enhancing awareness of relevant local and international best practices and standards; organising specialised legal conferences, seminars, and forums; preparing and implementing qualification programmes for arbitrators and experts; and exchanging scientific and practical expertise in the legal and arbitration fields.

The partnership will also introduce professional and specialised arbitration diploma programmes, qualification courses for arbitrators and experts, specialised workshops, and legal conferences and seminars. These programmes will target lawyers, legal advisers, arbitrators, experts, employees in the public and private sectors, academics, researchers, law students and others interested in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.

The two sides exchanged commemorative shields following the signing ceremony.

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By Amira Khalil
4 min read

Syria tourism growth accelerates as Arab and foreign visitors head back

Syria tourism growth picked up sharply in the first half of 2026, and behind the figures are people choosing to come back. Arab visitors to Syria doubled between January and June, reaching 664,000 from 320,000 a year earlier, the tourism ministry said. Jordan sent the most travelers. Lebanon and Iraq followed close behind. Arrivals from Gulf countries kept rising too, though the ministry gave no separate count for them.

Foreign arrivals climb off a low base

Syria’s foreign tourist arrivals grew even faster. International visitors reached 719,000, up from 131,000 during the same months in 2025. Turkey led the source markets. Germany, Sweden, the United States, the Netherlands, Canada and the United Kingdom came next, a spread that reaches far past Syria’s neighbors. These Syria visitor arrivals 2026 now stretch across Europe and North America, a change from the years when few outsiders came at all. Newer government data adds weight to the trend. Counting Syrian expatriates as well, total visitors hit 3.52 million in the first half, up 111 percent on last year. Expatriate trips alone came to 2.13 million, and the ministry calls that group key to rebuilding trust in the country abroad.

What Syria tourism growth means on the ground

Numbers like these describe more than a spreadsheet. Each arrival is a hotel shift filled, a fare paid, a restaurant table turned. For many people working in tourism, Syria tourism growth shows up as more work after long uncertainty. Mazen Al-Salhani, the tourism minister, has called tourism a driver of jobs across transport, hospitality and small businesses. He said the sector is entering a new phase, supported by rising demand from regional and international markets. Under a five-year plan, the ministry wants tourism to lift its share of the economy and add tens of thousands of jobs by the end of the decade. In coastal Tartus, officials opened the summer season this year with an eye on Mediterranean visitors. The rising movement of people, the ministry said, shows the need to expand hotel capacity and improve services.

Investment follows the visitors

Syria tourism investment has started to track the arrivals. Al-Salhani said last September the country signed investment contracts worth $1.5 billion to revive the sector. That deal came a month after the government agreed $14 billion in infrastructure, transport and real estate. He said renewed interest in Syria as a destination is opening fresh chances for investors in hotels, hospitality and services. The Syria tourism sector still carries the weight of long war years, and rebuilding hotels and heritage sites will take time and money.

A wider economic reset

The tourism push sits inside a larger reset. Neil Quilliam, a fellow in the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, wrote for AGBI that Syria is beginning to draw investment across several sectors, which could position it as a new growth zone in the regional economy. President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has set the 2026 budget at $10.5 billion, close to triple last year’s level. Whether Syria tourism growth holds through the second half of the year could depend on air links, hotel supply and the pace of new projects. For now, the people arriving are the clearest sign of change. Each doubled figure is a person who decided the time was right to return.

By Amira Khalil
3 min read

NBQ’s 2026 half-year profit reaches AED271 million on solid fundamentals

NBQ’s 2026 half-year profit came in at AED271 million for the six months to 30 June. Behind that figure sit the depositors, borrowers and staff who keep the lender running. The National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain results point to steady footing at a small bank that families and businesses in the northern emirates lean on for everyday needs.

What NBQ’s 2026 half-year profit shows

The bank credited its first-half showing to a wider mix of income and a broader balance sheet, paired with tight cost control. Total interest income reached AED503 million over the period. Net interest income held about flat at AED310 million, against AED309 million a year earlier. That flat line matters more than it looks. Interest rates fell over the year, so keeping core income steady took real work on both pricing and funding.

For a customer, this shows up in small ways. Your deposit stays safe. Loan terms stay predictable. A bank that earns steadily can keep the lights on for the people who bank with it.

Balance sheet growth and deposits

NBQ total assets rose to AED24.1 billion by the end of June, up 5 percent from December and 20 percent from a year earlier. Customer deposits did much of the heavy lifting. They climbed 29 percent to AED17.1 billion, a sign that more people trusted the bank with their money. Net loans and advances grew 4 percent over the year to AED8.7 billion. Shareholders’ equity reached AED6.4 billion, up 3 percent from June 2025.

Deposit growth on that scale tells a human story. When savers move money into a bank, they place a bet on its stability. That trust gives the lender room to fund loans for homes, shops and small firms across the emirate.

Capital strength and asset quality

The capital adequacy ratio stood at 31 percent, well above the floor the Central Bank of the UAE sets under Basel III rules. Put simply, the bank holds a thick cushion against shocks. The non-performing loans ratio came in at 0.4 percent, up slightly from 0.3 percent at the end of 2025 but far below the 2.2 percent seen a year earlier. Fewer bad loans mean fewer customers in distress and a cleaner book. NBQ net profit after tax landed at AED271 million on the back of these numbers.

Adnan Al Awadhi, Chief Executive Officer of NBQ, said the bank delivered solid results despite geopolitical uncertainty and lower interest rates. He pointed to a diversified model, careful balance sheet management and a focus on lasting growth. Al Awadhi said the bank kept strong capital and liquidity while supporting customers and the wider economy through prudent risk management and better asset quality.

He added that NBQ kept investing in digital tools to improve the customer experience and to make its platforms safer and more reliable. Partnerships would widen its services further, he said. Al Awadhi also restated the bank’s pledge to Emiratisation, leadership development, sustainability and community work.

Why NBQ’s 2026 half-year profit matters to customers

Numbers like these can feel far from daily life. Yet a stable bank shapes real choices for real people. NBQ’s 2026 half-year profit gives the lender the means to keep lending, keep hiring and keep serving the towns it calls home. For anyone who banks there, that steadiness is the point.

By Amira Khalil
3 min read

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