American actress and singer Jennifer Lopez recently made a dazzling return to the stage at Elie Saab's 45thanniversary runway show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - a feat no one would have believed a decade ago. Saudi Arabia has been on a transformational journey over the past decade - both culturally and economically. In truth, most Middle Eastern countries aspire to diversify their economy. But transformations always require leaders who can stay on a vision for a long period of time. Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (MBS), the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, is leading this transformation in Saudi Arabia. He has a broad vision for the entire Middle East. The emerging technology realm and diversification of its oil-based economy can be seen across the country.

One of the challenges holding back Middle Eastern countries from achieving the full potential of their economic growth is the unrest in the region due to the Israel-Palastine conflict, more so after the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7th last year. Arab powers, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Qatar, have not been as aggressive as before in their responses to the Gaza conflict. It can be viewed as an effort to walk into the future with Abraham Accord. The Abraham Accords are a series of joint normalization statements initially between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, effective since September 15th, 2020. Brokered by the US, the historic joint statement was announced after months of negotiation, and the leaders of both Middle Eastern nations formally signed the agreement on August 13th, 2020. However, the reports forecast the Middle East’s overall gross domestic product (GDP) growth to rise modestly to 2.2 percent in 2024 in real terms, up from 1.8 percent in 2023. This special issue of CEO Insights Asia is dedicated to the business leaders in the Middle East who have been resilient throughout the challenging climate in the region. Do let us know your thoughts.