Daily MENA Tech Policy Insight - February 19th, 2026

AD Ports to develop region’s largest agri-food hub, KSA's Humain invests $3B in Musk’s xAI, Dell and Ooredoo launch AI-as-a-Service in Qatar, Indonesia and US firms sign $7B in investment deals, India's Sarvam launches 22 local LLMs

Here’s a look at today's biggest tech stories in the MENA+:

• AD Ports plans to develop region’s largest agri-food hub in Abu Dhabi
• Mubadala Bio acquires 100% of IDS, GMSC to support integrated drug sales platform
• Saal.ai, NTT Data partner to scale UAE-developed enterprise AI products
• Gargash Group to adopt Ayden digital payments solutions across business
• Abzer partners Tamara to add BNPL capabilities

• Lockheed Martin targets full operations at Saudi software facility this year
• Mastercard cardholders can now use Google Pay in Saudi Arabia
• PIF slashes US-listed equity holdings to $12.9B, from $19.4B in previous quarter
• Humain invests $3B in Musk’s xAI
• German engineering services firm FEV to support CEER's Saudi EV ecosystem expansion

• GE mulling local factory for the production of radiology contrast dyes
• Egypt to raise wages for public, private sectors as part of social protections
• CIB targets 10M new customers from lower-middle classes with digital bank launch
• eFinance's partners UAE's Cobi to integrate AI across digital payments ecosystem
• Govt expands Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development

• PTA mandates deployment of 1000 towers annually under 5G auction
• Pakistan releases 15-point action plan to tackle IMF review concerns
• Apple to make iPhones in Pakistan, starting with refurbishment business
• Pakistan to roll out govt services superapp
• Blockchain-powered Islamic digital bank Fasset partners HRL to enter Pakistani market

Other MENA+ Developments

• Zain Bahrain to acquire Infonas, expanding ICT footprint
• BENEFIT reaches $100B in e-transactions across portfolio of services
• Oman CAA issues regulations on sale, registration of drones
• Dell Technologies, Ooredoo launch AI-as-a-Service in Qatar
• Morocco partners Visa on digital payments adoption program for tourism sector

Southeast Asia Developments

• Philippine digital bank Maya to seek up to $1B in US IPO
• Philippine DICT reaches deal with Meta to crack down on deepfakes, scams
• Indonesia, US firms sign $7B in investment deals ahead of trade deal signing
• Bangkok pilots electric motorcycle taxi transition project to cut pollution
• Vietnam trade ministry pushes back on criticism of new data center power pricing policy

India Developments

• India expects $200B in AI-linked investments over next two years, adding to $90B in pledges
• AMD to support TCS' data center business entry
• Sarvam launches 22 local LLMs
• India eases curbs on Chinese energy equipment imports
• Govt moving towards ‘non-negotiable’ technical requirements for AI-generated content