- Arab world
- The 22 member states of the League of Arab States across the Middle East and North Africa — home to around 475 million people.
- GCC — Gulf Cooperation Council
- Political and economic union of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, formed in 1981 and headquartered in Riyadh.
- League of Arab States
- The Arab League — a regional organisation of 22 Arab member states founded in 1945, headquartered in Cairo.
- MENA
- Middle East & North Africa — the wider region; geographically it also includes the non-Arab states Iran, Israel and Türkiye.
- Maghreb & Mashreq
- The Maghreb is the western Arab world (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania); the Mashreq is the eastern Arab world (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria).
- FTA — Free Trade Agreement
- A treaty that reduces or removes tariffs and barriers between economies, such as the UK–GCC FTA concluded in May 2026.
- GAFTA
- Greater Arab Free Trade Area — an Arab League agreement reducing tariffs on trade between most member states.
- CEPA
- Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement — a broad trade-and-investment treaty covering goods, services and investment, favoured by the UAE.
- Rules of Origin
- Criteria that determine a product’s economic nationality, deciding whether it qualifies for an FTA’s tariff preferences.
- Tariff & MFN
- A tariff is a tax on imported goods. Most-Favoured-Nation is the standard tariff a WTO member applies to partners without a preferential deal.
- Customs Union
- An arrangement where members apply a common external tariff to non-members — the GCC operates one.
- FDI
- Foreign Direct Investment — lasting cross-border investment that gives the investor influence over an enterprise.
- Sovereign Wealth Fund
- A state-owned investment fund — e.g. Saudi Arabia’s PIF, Abu Dhabi’s ADIA and Mubadala, the Qatar and Kuwait Investment Authorities.
- National Visions
- Long-term state development strategies — e.g. Saudi Vision 2030, the UAE Centennial 2071 and Oman Vision 2040.
- Localisation
- Saudization / Emiratisation and similar policies requiring a share of private-sector jobs to go to nationals.
- ETA
- Electronic Travel Authorisation — the UK’s digital pre-travel permit, now available to GCC nationals.
- Incoterms
- Standard international commercial terms (e.g. FOB, CIF) defining buyer and seller responsibilities in shipping.
- Letter of Credit
- A bank’s guarantee of payment to an exporter once agreed documentary conditions are met.
- Certificate of Origin
- Documentation certifying where goods originate — often authenticated by a chamber of commerce for Arab markets.
- Free Zone
- A designated area offering customs and tax incentives and, frequently, full foreign ownership.
- Halal Certification
- Certification that products meet Islamic requirements — often required for food and consumer goods entering Arab markets.