https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/01/diplomacy-money-gulf-saudi-arabia-qatar-israel-sudan-fdi-gcc.html
Recent diplomatic breakthroughs in the Gulf, specifically the normalization of ties with Israel and the lifting of the blockade of Qatar, have a common driver: the drying up of foreign direct investment across the region.

2020 marked a disastrous year for global FDI, with UNCTAD estimates of a 49% decline H1 2020. China has all but exited the region as a source of FDI. There was no Chinese FDI into the UAE or Saudi Arabia, and contract awards amounted to 8% of 2019 awards in the first half of 2020

Moreover, China's foreign investment flows into Pakistan and Egypt, while strong in 2019, evaporated in 2020. But so too has outgoing FDI from the Gulf to the Middle East, Pakistan and the Horn of Africa.

See more on GCC outgoing FDI to a core set of surrounding countries here: https://www.aei.org/multimedia/fadi-tracker/

2020 saw sharp declines in Gulf FDI to these cases compared with 2019. There was one exception: Oman. Of the eight cases, only Oman saw continued and increased incoming FDI from the GCC, almost entirely driven by the UAE. Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/01/diplomacy-money-gulf-saudi-arabia-qatar-israel-sudan-fdi-gcc.html#ixzz6jT4rXN00

For 2021, expect diplomatic efforts to lower the temp in the Gulf, including w Iran. Increasing competition for foreign investment. Expect more shared interest in tourism (2022 World Cup), infrastructure projects, property development and technology https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/01/diplomacy-money-gulf-saudi-arabia-qatar-israel-sudan-fdi-gcc.html#ixzz6jT3j8D7t