A second Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker is transiting the Strait of Hormuz days after the first such cargo crossed under an arrangement involving Iran and Pakistan, highlighting how cargoes are crossing the waterway on a case-by-case basis amid ongoing conflict risks.

The vessel, Mihzem, with capacity of 174,000 cubic metres, departed Ras Laffan and is heading northeast toward Port Qasim in Pakistan, where it is expected to arrive on May 12, according to LSEG shipping data.

This would be the second successful passage through Hormuz for a Qatari LNG tanker since the start of Iran conflict.

On Saturday, LNG tanker Al Kharaitiyat started crossing Hormuz via the Iranian-approved northern route and on Sunday it managed to cross the strait.

Read more-Strait talk: What the Hormuz crisis means for GCC markets in Q2 2026

The LNG is being sold by Qatar to Pakistan, a mediator in the war, under a government-to-government deal, according to two people familiar with the matter on May 9.

They said Iran had approved the shipment to help build confidence with Qatar and Pakistan.

Two more tankers laden with Qatari LNG are expected to head to Pakistan in the coming days, the sources said.

Pakistan has been in discussions with Iran to allow a limited number of LNG tankers to pass through the strait, as Islamabad urgently needs to address its gas shortage, a source briefed on the agreement told Reuters on May 9.

Iran agreed to assist, and the two sides are coordinating the first vessel’s safe passage carrying gas supplied under Pakistan’s agreement with Qatar, its main LNG supplier, the source added.

Earlier this month, the UAE’s ADNOC managed to send two LNG tankers through the strait after their tracking signals were switched off, according to shipping data, underlining the heightened risks and operational sensitivities in the waterway.

Qatar is the world’s second-largest exporter ⁠of LNG, ​with shipments mostly going to buyers in Asia. Iranian attacks knocked out 17 per cent of Qatar’s ​LNG export capacity, with repairs expected to sideline 12.8 million metric tonnes per year of the fuel for three to five years.

A new collaboration between BNY, Finstreet and the ADI Foundation is set to advance the UAE’s position in institutional digital finance, with a focus on building regulated, scalable digital asset custody infrastructure anchored in Abu Dhabi.

The initiative brings together global custody expertise, local digital market infrastructure and sovereign-grade blockchain capability under a framework based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

It is designed to provide institutional clients with a secure and regulated pathway into digital assets, while laying the groundwork for future expansion into stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets.

As institutional demand for regulated digital asset solutions accelerates and jurisdictions compete to define the standards for tokenised finance, the collaboration reflects Abu Dhabi’s growing role as a bridge between traditional capital markets and the digital asset economy.

Against this backdrop, Ajay Bhatia, principal council member at ADI Foundation, and Hani Kablawi, executive vice chair at BNY, discuss the rationale behind the partnership, the institutional gap it aims to close, and how Abu Dhabi is positioning itself in the next phase of global financial infrastructure.

What specific market gap in the UAE’s digital asset ecosystem does this collaboration between BNY, Finstreet and ADI Foundation aim to address?

There is an opportunity for a fully regulated, globally credible, locally anchored institutional digital asset infrastructure platform in the UAE that can support institutional clients as traditional financial infrastructure evolves toward tokenised and digitally native markets.

This strategic collaboration between BNY, Finstreet, and ADI Foundation looks to fill that gap. By combining BNY’s global custody, and asset servicing capabilities with Finstreet’s local digital market infrastructure and ADI Foundation’s sovereign-grade blockchain infrastructure, we aim to offer secure, compliant and localised institutional-grade digital asset custody solutions to UAE clients which is anchored in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

Why was Abu Dhabi, and specifically ADGM, chosen as the base for this digital asset custody initiative?

Abu Dhabi, and ADGM specifically, have positioned themselves as leading hubs for digital finance, blockchain innovation, and institutional capital markets. Abu Dhabi and ADGM were chosen as the base of this initiative because of growing local institutional client demand, alongside their emphasis on regulatory modernisation and technological ambition.

This collaboration aligns with the UAE’s broader ambition to become a global centre for regulated digital assets and tokenised finance. By anchoring the initiative in Abu Dhabi, our collaboration will combine digital market infrastructure with global financial expertise in a highly regulated environment.

The partnership will initially focus on custody for Bitcoin and Ethereum before expanding into stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets. What does that expansion roadmap look like?

We are taking a phased approach, beginning with the assets that institutions most commonly custody today – Bitcoin and Ethereum. Over time, in line with client demand and evolving market infrastructure, we aim to support additional asset types including stablecoins, and tokenised real-world assets.

IHC recently announced the launch of the dirham-backed stablecoin DDSC. How does this new custody partnership complement that initiative, and could the two eventually intersect?

This alliance aims to create the institutional infrastructure needed to support broader adoption of digital assets in the UAE, with the potential to support future stablecoin use cases, like DDSC. While the initial focus is on custody for assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, we intend to explore stablecoins and tokenised assets over time. Given that, DDSC and the custody platform could eventually intersect.

What level of demand are you currently seeing from institutional investors in the UAE for regulated digital asset custody services?

We are seeing strong and growing institutional demand for regulated digital asset custody in the UAE, especially from firms that want a locally anchored solution under ADGM.

The consistent message we hear is that institutions will scale activity when custody meets the same standards they expect in traditional markets: governance, security, auditability, and clear regulatory oversight.

How do you see the UAE positioning itself against other global digital asset hubs such as Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong?

As we discussed previously, the UAE is positioning itself as a leading global digital asset hub with sovereign-backed infrastructure, regulatory modernisation, and strong institutional support. The UAE has moved quickly to establish clear regulatory frameworks for digital assets and cultivate an environment where institutional and digital native players can innovate responsibly.

Through initiatives like this collaboration, Abu Dhabi is continuing to build its presence among global hubs such as Singapore, Switzerland, and Hong Kong in institutional digital finance and tokenisation.

In addition, the UAE is emerging with a differentiated approach driven by regulatory agility, strong human and institutional capital, and an emphasis on embedding digital assets within its wider economic and financial strategies.

Over the next five years, how do you see digital assets evolving within mainstream banking and capital markets?

In the years ahead, we expect digital assets to become increasingly integrated with traditional banking and capital markets, particularly through tokenised assets, stablecoins, and blockchain-based settlement infrastructure.

Large financial institutions are expected to increase focus on regulated, institutional use cases that improve efficiency, transparency, and cross-border connectivity.

We also expect greater adoption of digital custody, tokenised securities, and real-world asset tokenisation as regulatory frameworks continue to mature globally.

In essence, over the next five years, we see the market likely to move beyond experimentation toward real-world deployment, with Abu Dhabi positioned as an important hub for regulated digital finance – and we are proud to be at the centre of this transformation.

Dubai Municipality has completed the Middle East’s first pilot project for surveying waterways and canals using Mobile Mapping technology through the Leica TRK system mounted on a specially equipped vessel, in a move aimed at strengthening the emirate’s advanced digital infrastructure and geospatial capabilities.

The pilot project covered surveying works across Dubai Water Canal in Al Jaddaf, where high-precision spatial datasets and 3D models were developed to support infrastructure management, urban planning, and asset monitoring.

The initiative forms part of Dubai’s wider push to enhance its geospatial ecosystem and support the emirate’s Digital Twin ambitions through continuously updated and highly accurate spatial data.

According to Dubai Municipality, the project was carried out in collaboration with specialised partners and is expected to create wider opportunities for using advanced geospatial datasets across critical sectors.

Eng. Maitha Alnuaimi, Director of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Centre Department at Dubai Municipality, said: “This initiative forms part of Dubai Municipality’s ongoing efforts to strengthen digital infrastructure by developing an integrated geospatial database that supports the emirate’s Digital Twin project and enables government entities to make accurate and timely decisions based on reliable data.”

“The project further reinforces Dubai’s readiness and leadership as a smart and future-focused city while enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of urban management systems,” she added.

Dubai Municipality said it is now expanding surveying works to cover waterways across the emirate in coordination with relevant entities, as part of preparations for the next operational phase and wider implementation of the project’s outputs.

The move is expected to support the integration of smart systems and improve the efficiency, resilience, and sustainability of city management frameworks.

Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE’s national railway network, has launched a nationwide rail safety campaign ahead of the phased introduction of passenger services across the country later this year.

The initiative marks a major milestone in the UAE’s preparations for its first national passenger rail network and reflects Etihad Rail’s broader strategy to position safety as a shared responsibility between passengers, communities, road users, and infrastructure operators.

Read more-Etihad Rail passenger service: What’s on offer for UAE travellers

The campaign will be rolled out through a multi-channel communications strategy spanning broadcast, digital, outdoor, and community engagement platforms. It is designed to reach audiences across all Emirates as the country moves closer to the launch of passenger rail operations in 2026.

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Etihad Rail said the campaign has been developed not only to educate the public on safe interactions with railway infrastructure, but also to establish a long-term culture of awareness and responsible behaviour around rail environments.

The company’s latest move comes as the UAE accelerates investment in transport infrastructure and connectivity projects aimed at supporting economic diversification, sustainable mobility, and population growth.

Behavioural approach to safety

Unlike conventional safety campaigns that rely heavily on warnings and enforcement messaging, Etihad Rail said its strategy is rooted in behavioural science and long-term cultural engagement.

The campaign introduces the positioning “safety is care,” framing rail safety as a collective social responsibility rather than a set of instructions. Through calm, human-centred messaging and relatable real-life scenarios, the company aims to encourage greater public awareness and instinctive safe behaviour in shared spaces.

Etihad Rail noted that many safety incidents globally are linked not to deliberate misconduct, but to distraction, routine behaviour, or a lack of awareness around rail infrastructure.

As part of the initiative, the operator has released a series of indicative advertising visuals showcasing everyday passenger and community interactions around rail environments. The materials are expected to appear across physical and digital platforms as the campaign expands nationwide.

The programme will also include direct engagement with schools, local communities, and strategic stakeholders as Etihad Rail works to embed rail safety awareness ahead of passenger operations.

Passenger services to roll out in phases

Passenger rail services are scheduled to begin in 2026 through what the company described as a carefully planned phased rollout designed to maintain the highest standards of operational safety and reliability from launch.

Adhraa Almansoori, director of Public Policy and Sustainability at Etihad Rail, said the campaign reflects the organisation’s long-term commitment to ensuring safety remains central to every stage of the railway’s development.

“Safety sits at the heart of everything we do at Etihad Rail. As we prepare to introduce passenger services across the UAE, it is essential that we build awareness and understanding of how to engage safely with the railway,” Almansoori said.

“This campaign is about building a culture of care and shared responsibility, ensuring that our communities, our passengers, and our employees all play a role in maintaining the highest safety standards.

“This year, we will be introducing passenger services through a carefully planned, phased approach, designed to ensure that every journey meets our expectations for safety, reliability, and comfort from the very beginning,” she added.

The launch of passenger rail services is expected to represent a transformational moment for the UAE’s transport sector, enhancing inter-emirate connectivity while supporting broader sustainability goals by offering an alternative to road-based travel.

Safety positioned as core operational pillar

Rail transport is widely regarded as one of the safest modes of transportation globally due to extensive investment in signalling systems, infrastructure standards, and operational controls.

Etihad Rail said its network has been developed in line with international best practices and incorporates advanced signalling technologies, continuous monitoring systems, and robust operational protocols aimed at ensuring safe and efficient operations across the UAE.

The company added that safety will remain the foundation of every phase of network expansion and passenger service deployment.

Industry observers view the campaign as a key preparatory step ahead of passenger operations, particularly as the UAE introduces rail travel to communities that may have limited prior interaction with large-scale railway systems.

The broader passenger rail programme is expected to strengthen national mobility, support tourism and business travel, and contribute to economic integration between major population and industrial centres across the emirates.

With passenger services approaching, Etihad Rail’s latest campaign signals a strategic shift from infrastructure delivery to public readiness, underscoring the operator’s focus on building trust, awareness, and long-term confidence in the UAE’s emerging passenger rail ecosystem.

In 1962, Qatar passed a labor law that stipulated the minimum percentage of Qatari national workers by industry. This minor administrative task and the initial spark of GCC nationalisation have turned out to be the foundation of the world’s first AI labor policy, sixty years later.

The GCC’s nationalisation policy is the most tested in the world to deal with one of the most treacherous side effects of AI in the economy. The GCC has been dealing with this problem for half a century. They called it the expat economy. An expatriate worker in Dubai or Riyadh is a producer. He builds the building, he writes the code, he manages the account. However, 60 to 70 percent of that expat worker’s salary leaves the country immediately. He sends it back home as remittances to India, Pakistan, the Philippines, etc. He spends what he must to live in the country. He spends it locally. But everything else goes back home. We get the output of the expat worker but don’t get the multiplier effect of that expat worker’s salary. “Remittance leakage” in the GCC is $131.5bn annually, which is the total GDP of a mid-sized country in Europe, leaving the Gulf economies.

Now, replace this expat worker with an AI worker. The AI worker also produces output. It writes the code, writes the contract, answers the query. It does not receive wages, and it does not spend money. The economic value goes entirely to the technology company that built it, most likely based in San Francisco or Seattle. The domestic economy gets the output, and the consumer economy gets nothing.

The GCC expat worker is the old version of the AI zero-multiplier problem. With lower intensity, slower onset, and geographic visibility. The GCC has been monitoring and mitigating the impacts of “workers who don’t spend locally” and “cheaper workforce”. Over the last 60 years, they have developed a policy that can be described with five architectural elements to solve this problem. First, setting mandatory quotas and minimum percentage of nationals required per company/sector. Saudi Arabia has the most developed version of this, through its Nitaqat policy, with its Platinum, Green, Yellow, and Red Zones. The UAE has its 2 per cent annual growth targets, and Qatar has its 50 per cent targets for the energy sector. Second, enforcing financial penalties as a form of visa restrictions, monthly fines, contract non-renewals and restrictions on new expat worker hires for non-compliant companies. UAE has fines of Dhs96,000 to Dhs108,000 annually per unfilled position on companies that do not meet Emiratisation targets, Kuwait has the most passive version of this with attrition through non-renewal of expats on non-compliant companies. Third, executing wage subsidy programs like HADAF in Saudi Arabia and Nafis in the UAE, where the government subsidises part of the salary of the national worker, so that the company does not face the choice between economics and employment. Fourth, knowledge transfer that builds capabilities within the country by mandating local national trainings by expats. Fifth, using compliance as competitive advantage, Saudi Arabia’s Platinum-rated Nitaqat companies get better government contract access and lower costs for work permits.

This five-part architecture has been refined for sixty years. It is the most empirically tested labor market framework for zero-multiplier workforce displacement that exists to date. Applied to AI, each element translates directly. Identify which sectors are most vulnerable to zero-multiplier displacement and legislate human employment floors before the crisis arrives. Set a direct levy on AI agent deployment above a defined sectoral threshold, with proceeds ring-fenced to fund human employment in the same industry. Subsidise part of the human worker’s cost so firms are not forced into replacing people simply because the math is cheaper. Invest in domestic AI infrastructure and data privacy laws that decrease dependence on AI hosted in other countries; creating a local multiplier through establishing AI companies inside the GCC. And turn human employment into a procurement advantage: companies that meet defined staffing thresholds get preferential access to public contracts, making the business case for keeping humans in the loop appealing rather than relying on regulatory pressure alone.

What is impressive, and almost unreported, is that the GCC is not waiting for the AI displacement crisis to arrive. It is already applying this framework in real time. Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN, backed by the Public Investment Fund and capitalised with $1.2bn in January 2026, is building 250 megawatts of domestic AI data center capacity. Saudi Arabia’s PDPL and the UAE’s data protection frameworks require AI companies seeking Gulf market access to store and compute data locally. When Saudi Arabia announced in January 2024 that government contracts worth an estimated $175bn would flow exclusively to companies headquartered in the Kingdom, hundreds of international companies relocated to Riyadh within twelve months. Microsoft built three availability zones of physical AI infrastructure on Saudi soil. EY moved its entire MENA headquarters, including AI advisory, to King Abdullah Financial District. These investments are initial phases of the five-part framework adaptation: sovereign compute & data residency replacing Knowledge transfer, and procurement leverage requiring global firms to build here, hire here, and leave capability here. The remaining three are the policy tools the GCC will require next.

While GCC sovereign wealth funds might appear to be accelerating AI and its challenges, the framework suggests they fundamentally serve as the foundations for their own economic response. The GCC has lived this structural challenge for sixty years. It has the framework, the data, and the institutional memory to act before the crisis, and has already started. The rest of the world will eventually face the same question the Gulf answered decades ago: what happens when your economy produces but doesn’t distribute? When that moment arrives, the Gulf will already be leading the answer.

References:

• Qatar Labour Law (1962): https://www.almeezan.qa/LawPage.aspx?id=2592&language=en
• Saudi MHRSD: https://hrsd.gov.sa
• MoHRE: https://www.mohre.gov.ae
• HADAF: https://www.hrdf.org.sa
• Nafis: https://nafis.gov.ae
• World Bank Migration & Remittances: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/migrationremittancesdiasporaissues
• HUMAIN Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudis-humain-secures-up-12-bln-expand-ai-infrastructure-2026-01-21/
• Saudi PDPL, SDAIA: https://sdaia.gov.sa
• UAE data protection framework: https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/digital-uae/data/data-protection
• Saudi Investment Ministry (MISA): https://www.misa.gov.sa
• Microsoft Saudi Arabia East data centre (Q4 2026 launch): https://news.microsoft.com/source/emea/2026/02/microsoft-confirms-saudi-arabia-datacenter-region-available-for-customers-to-run-cloud-workloads-from-q4-2026/
• EY MENA HQ move to KAFD Riyadh (Sep 2025): https://www.ey.com/en_ae/newsroom/2025/09/ey-mena-completes-its-move-to-the-new-regional-headquarters-at-king-abdullah-financial-district-in-riyadh