The deal is the first licensing arrangement for The Week, which has a UK and US edition and curates opinion, news and culture from national and international news media.
The magazine will be licensed through Motivate, which has offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and is celebrating its 35th year in the region in 2014.
It will publish 15,000 copies a week, which will be distributed through subscription, retail sales and distribution in business districts and airports. There will also be a digital edition.
The Middle East edition will be distributed in the six states that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council, which covers Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In the same format as the UK version, the Middle East magazine will be weekly and will collate the best of the Arabic and international newspapers and magazines, websites, blogs and social media.
The news follows confirmation of the closure of the Australian edition of The Week in autumn 2012.
Kerin O’Connor, chief executive of The Week UK, said: "The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing and most vibrant markets in the world and I believe The Week is well-suited to the region.
"I am thrilled to be working with Motivate who have a superb track record. I have no doubt the magazine will be a huge success. This is our first licence for The Week and marks a new step forward in the magazine’s global development."
The Week joins Motivate's portfolio of more than 30 magazines, including its founding title What's On, which it claims is the biggest-selling magazine in the region. It also publishes women's magazine Emirates Woman and business title Gulf Business and Identity.
The original UK edition of The Week was launched in 1995 and has a UK circulation of 197,253, according to the ABC figures for January – June 2013.
The US edition of The Week was launched in 2001 and has a current circulation of 525,000, according to Dennis.
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