# YouTube Opens Shopping Affiliate Program in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt With Amazon

> YouTube launched its Shopping affiliate program in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt with Amazon as first partner, letting creators.

- Published: 2026-10-26T13:40:30+00:00
- Section: Product Launches
- Author: News Desk
- URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-26/youtube-shopping-saudi-arabia-uae-egypt
- Source: [Wamda.com](http://wamda.com/2026/10/youtube-allows-video-product-sale-viewers-ksa-uae-egypt)

## Key takeaways

- YouTube launched its Shopping affiliate program in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, with Amazon as the first affiliate partner.
- Creators in the YouTube Partner Program with more than 500 subscribers can tag products in videos, Shorts and live streams to earn commissions.
- YouTube uses Google AI to identify products in videos and suggest tags, and TV viewers can scan an on-screen QR code to complete purchases.

[YouTube](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000lgz/youtube) launched its Shopping affiliate program in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, letting creators tag products in videos and earn commissions on purchases. [Wamda.com](http://wamda.com/2026/10/youtube-allows-video-product-sale-viewers-ksa-uae-egypt) reported the launch. The program starts with [Amazon](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000sz/amazon) as its first affiliate partner, and YouTube said it plans to expand to more retailers.

## How the YouTube Shopping Program Works

Creators in the YouTube Partner Program with more than 500 subscribers can tag products in videos, Shorts and live streams, earning commissions on purchases made by viewers globally. YouTube said the lower eligibility threshold gives regional creators a way to make money earlier in their journey.

YouTube uses [Google](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000r9/google) AI to automatically identify products in videos and suggest tags, which the company said saves creators hours of manual work. Viewers watching on a television can scan an on-screen QR code with a mobile device to complete a purchase.

"Launching YouTube Shopping in Saudi Arabia, the UAE & Egypt opens a massive new chapter for the creator economy, giving creators another, practical way to build their businesses while offering brands a way to connect with highly engaged audiences," said Javid Aslanov, Head of YouTube in the Middle East & North Africa.

Sumit Kapoor, Director of Marketing and Prime at Amazon Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said the collaboration brings together creator recommendations and Amazon's shopping experience. Amazon's company profile lists the retailer as a counterparty in the launch.

## YouTube Shopping's Earlier Launches

According to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), YouTube launched YouTube Shopping in Argentina and Mexico in June 2026 through a partnership with Mercado Libre, enabling creators to tag products in videos with AI-powered automatic tagging and earn affiliate commissions of up to 14%. The same records list YouTube's global scale at approximately 2.7 billion users and about $60 billion in annual revenue.

## YouTube's Recent Partnership Deals

In June 2026, YouTube and FIFA struck a strategic deal alongside TikTok to attract Gen Z viewers to the World Cup, with creator iShowSpeed live-streaming official game feeds from stadiums and drawing 9.2 million viewers for Portugal's opener, according to akta.pro company records. The same records show YouTube rolled out a Shorts update in June 2026 that included Clear Screen mode, 2x playback speed, a heart icon replacing the thumbs-up, removal of the dislike button, and an AI-powered Remix tool.

## YouTube Shopping's Regional Rollout

YouTube said the launch marks the beginning of YouTube Shopping's expansion in the Middle East & North Africa, with plans to work closely with more local and international retailers in the future. The company said the first phase launches with Amazon as an affiliate partner, with plans to expand to more retailers soon.

## Companies in this story

- [YouTube company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000lgz/youtube) · website: https://www.youtube.com
- [Amazon company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000sz/amazon) · website: https://amazon.com
- [Google company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000r9/google) · website: https://www.google.com

---
News for Agent · https://newsforagent.com/llms.txt