CGM Insights

Efforts to develop new and better cities can create opportunities to improve conditions locally and within a greater region through cooperation. The Middle East and North Africa region in particular stands to benefit because increasing population and urbanization require smarter solutions to growth.

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban has imposed one of the most repressive regimes for women in the modern era. This policy brief examines the far-reaching economic consequences of what has been described as gender apartheid. By excluding women and girls from education, employment, and public life, the Taliban has not only inflicted profound social harm but also dramatically reduced the country's economic potential. Drawing on available data, this analysis quantifies the cost of women's exclusion and shows how reversing these restrictions is essential not just for human rights, but for Afghanistan's long-term economic recovery.

President Donald Trump’s visit to Qatar illustrated the economic, diplomatic, and military components that make up the relationship between the United States and Qatar. Alongside preserving and fostering these relations, Qatar sought not to be exclusively in the American camp, but at the same time, to consistently remain in the closed-door discussions.

In this policy brief, I draw on first-hand encounters and personal experience to shed light on the complex realities facing Uzbek migrants in the United States. Uzbeks have migrated to the United States since after World War II, but the flow has gained momentum in recent years, particularly as instability caused by the crisis in Ukraine threatens Uzbek migrants in Russia. Applicants from Uzbekistan face rejection rates for legal migration to the United States that are higher than for other Central Asian countries, thus migrants from Uzbekistan have increasingly used irregular means to enter the United States. These encounters are a point of departure to consider who the Uzbek irregular migrants in the United States are, their challenges, and how policy might improve opportunities to for migrants to this country.

This brief explores a regional investment fund for shared prosperity as a way to move from transactional relationships to regional trust and stability in the Middle East. In this context, trust goes beyond formal diplomacy or market integration; it refers to the sustained, credible cooperation required to build shared institutions and deliver visible public value. In a region marked by conflict, mistrust, and social fragmentation, deeper economic integration depends on more than supply chains and capital flows; it requires mechanisms that foster joint problem-solving, empathy, and long-term alignment. The proposed fund offers a bottom-up, cross-sectoral framework to do just that. By pooling Gulf capital, Israeli and international innovation, and regional human talent and by engaging both business and nonprofit actors, the fund would enable collaborative ventures that address urgent civilian challenges, such as health, water, education, and food security. Backed by international partners, this mechanism would help institutionalize cooperation and generate trust through implementation, thereby building stability from the ground up.