In March 2023, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced a historic agreement to normalize relations after years of regional competition and proxy conflict. As significant as the deal itself was, the role that China played in helping to broker the agreement took center stage in diplomatic circles. Though this moment served as a dramatic example of China's growing role in the Middle East, it did not occur in a vacuum. For years, China has been growing its trade and investment across the region. As a result, China has established itself as the largest trade partner for regional powers like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

How do we make sense of China's growing economic involvement in the Middle East, and what trends can we expect in the future?

With us today to understand China's economic involvement in the Middle East is Zoe Liu, the Maurice R. Greenberg Fellow for China Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Zoe is author of Sovereign Funds: How the Communist Party of China Finances its Global Ambitions, which is the first in-depth account of the sudden growth of China’s sovereign wealth funds and their transformative impact on global markets, domestic and multinational businesses, and international politics.

As the international community prepares for COP28, climate experts already caution that the global stocktake will not produce much in the way of good news. According to a March 2022 report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world is on track to surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming by 2030. The Middle East in particular is likely to feel the effects of a warming planet. As one of the hottest regions in the world, the Middle East is in danger of drought, water shortage, and mass migrations caused by untenable living conditions.

But action and innovation across the region gives hope. Morocco has established itself as a regional leader in clean energy. In June 2021, Morocco updated its UN climate pledge with a promise to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 17-18% by 2030. It has also made a significant effort to decrease government support for fossil fuels.

With us to discuss the renewable energy sector in the Middle East is Hicham Bouzekri, Director of Research, Development, and Industry at the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen). Masen is responsible for renewable energy sources -- chiefly solar, wind and hydropower. 

Despite rapid growth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 has witnessed a massive contraction across the tech industry. Global tech leaders have significantly cut staffing, earnings have dropped, and the consensus outlook for the tech industry has been significantly moderated. That said, momentum and optimism remain high across the Middle East. In 2022, startups across the region saw a record-breaking $3.94 billion in investment. What's more, spending across the tech sector is expected to continue growing through 2023. But is the outlook for the Middle East tech sector as bright as investors may believe -- or is there more to this story?

With us today to dissect tech and the road ahead is Fares Ghandour, a Partner at Wamda Capital. Wamda Capital is a leading regional VC Firm focused on deploying growth capital in the Middle East and North Africa's leading entrepreneur-led technology companies.