Unified GCC Visa to alter how UAE residents travel and insure trips
Travel across the Gulf is about to get much simpler — and it’s not just good news for tourists. The upcoming Unified GCC Visa, which will let residents and visitors move freely across Gulf countries, is set to change how UAE residents travel and insure their trips.
For the region’s travel insurance sector, this could be transformative. With borders becoming more fluid, travellers’ expectations are shifting — and insurers are already preparing for new patterns in demand.
Industry experts have widely deemed how the Unified GCC Visa would be a game-changer for regional tourism, and for the travel insurance sector as a whole.
“From a travel expert’s lens, it will make multi-country travel within the Gulf far more seamless — similar to how the Schengen model encourages cross-border trips in Europe,” said Toshita Chauhan, Chief Business Officer – General Insurance at Policybazaar.ae.
This new freedom, she added, will likely lead to shorter, more frequent trips — quick weekend getaways and multi-destination itineraries across GCC cities.
GCC agriculture sector
The GCC agriculture sector is characterized by significant challenges like aridity, water scarcity, and high temperatures, leading to a heavy reliance on food imports. To address this, GCC countries are investing heavily in modern agricultural technology, such as vertical farming and other innovations, and developing unified regional food security strategies to boost domestic production and ensure a stable food supply. These investments are also driving public-private partnerships to improve food processing and other supporting sectors.
Pakistan, UAE reaffirm commitment to strengthen trade
Coordinator the Prime Minister on Commerce H.E Rana Ihsaan Afzal Khan called on H.E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade of the UAE, at the Ministry in Abu Dhabi on 14 October 2025.
During the meeting, both sides reviewed the state of bilateral trade and economic cooperation, reaffirming the importance of further strengthening these ties between the two brotherly countries.
The Coordinator to the P.M on commerce expressed his deep gratitude to the leadership and people of the UAE for their warmth, hospitality, and consistent support.
Ali Zeb Khan, Trade and Investment Counselor Pakistan Consulate Dubai was present during the meeting.
The Gulf need a cybercrime ‘interpol’?
In the early years of the internet, popular culture often portrayed hacking as the preserve of youthful coding geeks or underdogs who targeted faceless corporations rather than ordinary people. At a World Economic Forum event in Dubai this week, a different and more menacing picture emerged.
“We have autonomous vehicles, robotics, critical infrastructure, supply chains,” Jeremy Jurgens, managing director and head of Centre for Cybersecurity at the WEF, told The National. “No matter where we are, where we’re interacting in the world, we have to think, ‘what is my kind of cyber surface that’s exposed here’? It’s not to scare people or have them avoid the world. It’s just to be conscious of the risks that are there.”
Mr Jurgens’s perspective reflects the fact that the online world has reached into just about every part of our lives. Most people already recognise cybercriminals for what they are – not rogues exploring a new digital frontier, but international blackmailers, extortionists and thieves. The stakes are particularly high where there is a booming economy, connected populations and rapid embrace of AI, as there are in the Gulf.
Kuwait PM presides over meeting following up on deals with China
His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah headed on Thursday the 31st meeting of the ministerial committee tasked with implementing agreements signed between the State of Kuwait and the People’s Republic of China.
The meeting provided updates on the areas of cooperation and joint coordination between the two countries in various fields especially within the sustainable development domain.
His Highness the Prime Minister affirmed the deep-rooted ties with China, saying that it was a valuable commercial, economic, and investment partner, which is reflected in the volume of trade.
He also said that economic ties were growing exponentially in reflection of the two countries keenness on developing relations.
His Highness the Prime Minister called on the ministerial committee to continue following up on the agreements, making sure that they were implemented to the fullest and within the agreed-upon timeframe.
UAE turns to AI
The UAE’s Federal Public Prosecution has launched a new artificial intelligence-powered translation service aimed at improving accessibility and inclusivity for non-Arabic speakers.
Speaking at GITEX Dubai this week, Khalifa Ibrahim Al Hammadi public prosecution member in the public procsecution of uae told Arab News the country hoped to become a world leader in integrating AI into the legal system. He cited the Bayan translation service, launched at the event in conjunction with Emirati AI company, Presight.
“It is designed to support investigations and trials by offering seamless two-way voice and text translation, with dialect recognition — including the Emirati dialect,” said Hammadi.
The UAE’s courts are often difficult to navigate for the country’s enormous expat population, which includes over 200 nationalities. Arabic is the official language of the UAE’s legal system, while English is common in business and commercial contracts, and translations are needed. In disputes, UAE courts give precedence to the Arabic version of any contract.
The public prosecution office hopes the new AI service will make the process much easier.
“The platform features speech-to-text and text-to-speech capabilities, extracts text from documents and images, and includes a multilingual legal dictionary,” Hammadi said.