Radio interview with Dubai Eye’s Business Breakfast on Biden’s visit to the Middle East, 13 July 2022

 

Dr. Nasser Saidi spoke with Dubai Eye’s Business Breakfast team on 13th July 2022 regarding US President Biden’s visit to the Middle East, with a focus on meeting with the Saudi Crown Price

Listen to the full radio interview at the link below (from 10:21 to 17:10):

https://omny.fm/shows/thebusinessbreakfastpodcast/less-passengers-will-be-able-to-fly-out-of-heathro

 




Interview with Al Arabiya TV (Arabic) on US stimulus package & inflationary pressures, 9 Feb 2021

Dr. Nasser Saidi spoke to Al Arabiya’s Nadine Hani on 9th Feb 2021 about the $1.9trn stimulus plans in the US and whether this would lead to inflationary pressures. Will this support a stock market bubble, leading to an eventual crash?
Watch the full interview (in Arabic) here.
 




"A COVID-19-induced macroeconomic overview of the GCC", Keynote presentation at Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East, 8 Dec 2020

Dr. Nasser Saidi, a keynote speaker at the latest Bonds, Loans and Sukuk Middle East event, held virtually on 8-9 Dec 2020, presented a 30-min talk titled “A COVID-19-induced macroeconomic overview of the GCC”.
The presentation covered the macroeconomic impact of Covid19 pandemic on the global economy and the Middle East/ GCC region (economic growth, capital flows, trade, investment, labour movements, job losses). Also covered were the policy responses (monetary, fiscal, social and health policies) in addition to thoughts on the Biden Presidency and its regional consequences. The concluding remarks focused on GCC’s way forward post Covid19, looking at three pillars: geopolitics, the economy and new sectors of focus.
Download the presentation here.




Podcast on what Biden’s win means for the Middle East with The National, 12 Nov 2020

Beyond the Headlines: How will Joe Biden change US policy in the Middle East?

For nearly four years, US President Donald Trump has torn up America’s foreign policy handbook – for better and for worse. The implications, both at home and abroad, have been staggering. Most recently, the Trump administration was lauded for facilitating the Abraham Accords, the normalisation of relations with Israel by the UAE and Bahrain. In exchange, Israel’s government agreed to halt its plan to annexe Palestinian territories. But Mr Trump’s days in the White House are now numbered. By the end of January 2021, a new administration will take the reins of American foreign policy.
This week on Beyond the Headlines, we hear from Sanam Vakil, deputy director of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, and Nasser Saidi, Lebanon’s former minister of economy and former vice governor of the Lebanese central bank, about what will change for the Middle East and what will remain the same when Joe Biden takes his seat in the Oval Office.

Listen to the podcast on: https://audioboom.com/posts/7728822-the-changes-in-the-middle-east-after-joe-biden-takes-office
OR on The National’s page: https://www.thenationalnews.com/podcasts/beyond-the-headlines/beyond-the-headlines-how-will-joe-biden-change-us-policy-in-the-middle-east-1.1110861

 
https://audioboom.com/posts/7486040-tear-gas-fireworks-and-politics-in-lebanon-s-revolution




"The Middle East after the Pandemic: Surviving the economic shockwave": Panel session, FT Global Boardroom, 12 Nov 2020

Dr. Nasser Saidi joined the FT Global Boardroom event on 12th Nov 2020, in the panel session titled “The Middle East after the Pandemic: Surviving the economic shockwave” to discuss a few questions:

How deep and long will the recession be in the Middle East? How has the pandemic affected the region’s diversification away from oil? What support is there for businesses in the consumer-facing sectors, and how can they plan for recovery? What will the US elections mean for regional geopolitics, and how will that impact on investment? What is the role of the region’s sovereign wealth funds in buying distressed European assets?
A summary of the session is available here: http://brochure.live.ft.com/the-global-boardroom-report/day-two-summary/#d2-9
Excerpts from the session/ Dr. Saidi’s comments are highlighted below:
The coronavirus pandemic has damaged the economy of the Middle East and it will take time to recover.
NS: If you look at the size of the impact of the great lockdown, you are talking about a 6.7 per cent GDP decline for the GCC. This is unprecedented. We haven’t had a recession of this scale in the region since the second world war.
The hydro-carbon producing countries of the Middle East have been diversifying away from oil and gas into other industries and this is accelerating.
NS: Diversification creates employment opportunities. Sixty per cent of our population is under 30 years of age, so we need to invest in activities that create jobs for them. Where will the new jobs be created? Previously we created them in government in most countries of the region. That is not where we will create them in the future. They have to be in the private sector.
The election of Joe Biden as the new US president will have a positive impact on the region
NS: Biden is very much a multilateralist, as opposed to the unilateralism that Trump advanced. The Biden approach to the region will be to discuss policy with the region. It will not be Twitter-based.