30-31 January: Middle East and North Africa Energy, London
6-7 February: E & P Information and Data Management, London
6-8 February: PowerGen Middle East, Doha
13-15 February: Kuwait Oil and Gas Summit and Exhibition, Kuwait
14-15 February: 9th Annual Trade and Export Finance Conference, Dubai
27-29 February: Offshore Arabia, Dubai
March (date to be confirmed): Middle East Alternative Investment Summit (location to be confirmed)
3-5 March: Saudi Safety and Security, Saudi Arabia
5-8 March: Middle East Investment Summit, Dubai
5-8 March: Hedge Funds World Middle East, Dubai
6-7 March: Saudi Downstream, Saudi Arabia
5-8 March: Middle East Investment Summit, Dubai
20-21 March : 3rd Annual Middle East Securities Forum, Abu Dhabi
25-27 March: Gulf Environment Forum, Saudi Arabia
25-27 March: Saudi Innovation, Diversification & Investment, Saudi Arabia
24-25 April: Middle East Real Estate Summit, Abu Dhabi
9-10 May: SMI's LNG 2012, London
13-15 May: WEPower, Saudi Arabia
18-20 June: Iraq Petroleum, London
Briefings & Reports
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Need an expert briefing to support an investment decision?
GSN’s team of experienced analysts are often called on by governments and their agencies, financial institutions, and energy companies to comment on developments in the Gulf region. Our analysts are available for private briefings (either by telephone or in person) and can produce tailored reports and research on a range of topics and issues. For more information contact Mark Ford. Email:mark@cbi-publishing.com
Politics, succession & risk in Saudi Arabia report
Politics, succession and risk in Saudi Arabia is a GSN special report, published in January 2010. The new report analyses Saudi policy on issues including succession, domestic and regional politics, defence, energy and financial trends, and features extensively researched biographical entries on 1,200 Al-Sauds from the ruling family’s main branch, together with profiles of leading cadet branch businessmen, and a range of maps and graphics.
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Please select a country from the list below to view a selection of sample articles, maps and other content from GSN's archives. Visit the GSN's World country pages to see a wider range of both recent and archived articles and resources.
Al-Wefaq caught between clever government and growing opposition as electioneering begins
The mainstream Shia parliamentary opposition appears to have become sidetracked by marginal and sectarian issues, and is now caught between a tactically astute government and vigorous rivals
Issue 862, 9 October 2009. Read the full article
A jihadist presence in Bahrain
Like Yemen, the militant threat in Bahrain is intimately linked to Saudi Arabia. This was underlined by recent attempts to secure the extradition of three Bahrainis being held in Saudi Arabia on terrorism charges. Bahrain’s Al-Adala group (National Justice Movement) and National Detainees Committee are demanding the release of the men. Issue 858, 24 July 2009.Read the full article
Mushaima seized in Bahrain crackdown
Exasperated by Haq’s persistent campaigning, the authorities arrested the extra-parliamentary opposition group’s president Hassan Mushaima, human rights commission head Abdeljalil Al-Singace and outspoken Shiite scholar Mohammed Habib Almuqdad on the night of 25-26 January. Al-Singace was released after 24 hours but remains on bail and is subject to a travel ban. Mushaima and Almuqdad remained in solitary confinement, and were denied contact with their families or lawyers, as GSN went to press. Issue 846, 30 January 2009.Read the full article
Salafists placated with prestige, Wefaq captures posts that count
Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society and its allies may have fallen short of the majority position they had hoped to secure in Bahrain’s 40-seat Majlis Al-Nawab (Chamber of Deputies), but they have emerged as clear winners in the tussle over leadership of parliament’s key committees, even if shrewd Sunni Islamist Al-Mawda will be prominent at Foreign Affairs. Issue 797, 19 January 2007.Read the full article
Bahrain opposition injects sour note into Hamad’s royal honeymoon
Opposition groups, infuriated by the final shape of constitutional reforms announced by King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa—the former Emir who on 14 February promoted himself to full monarchical status—are pondering whether to boycott Bahrain’s 9 May municipal and 24 October parliamentary elections (GSN 680/16). Issue 681, 6 March 2002. Read the full article
Opponents of President Ahmadinejad’s re-election and the wider regime continue to protest and organise, but opposition group leaders are under increasing pressure as the supreme leader and his allies dig in Issue 865, 20 November 2009. Read the full article
Iran shows off new military projects but its new arsenal fails to impress
Despite an increasingly sophisticated military infrastructure, a fatal crash and a number of technical faults at a recent air show have undermined President Ahmadinejad’s threats of retaliation if the US or Israel were to strike Issue 863, 23 October 2009.Read the full article
Ahmadinejad confronts an Iran looking for change within the continuity
Given half a chance, Iranians will vote against the establishment – not just in disaffected urban areas, but in the countryside (where incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is widely believed to have the edge), and even within the ruling elite, whose members may swap from faction to faction while maintaining staunch support for Iran’s velayat-e faqih system of clerical rule. Issue 854, 29 May 2009.Read the full article
GCC should fear Iran’s industrial spies, not its agent provocateurs
From industrial espionage to the cultivation of potential agents, Iranian intelligence is seeking to gain advantage in the Gulf monarchies – but the actual threat should not be over-stated. Issue 804, 27 April 2007.Read the full article
GCC states signal Iran fears with Hormuz contingency plan
The Gulf States are showing growing unease with Iran’s nuclear aspirations, reflected in the publicising of new plans to keep the Strait of Hormuz open in case of conflict. Issue 784, 23 June 2006.Read the full article
The security outlook is worrying and the political future remains cloudy with less than ten weeks to organise a general election, but some things appear to be going right for Iraq at last. Three major oil field service contracts hold out the prospect of financial stability, while MoO and leading IOCs have found common ground after years of failure, raising optimism about the second round of licensing Issue 865, 20 November 2009. Read the full article
Complex deals cast shadow over Kurdistan oil boom as spotlight falls on shareholders
Exploration successes by a number of small independent companies in Iraqi Kurdistan have inspired investor interest. But scrutiny of the regional government’s unorthodox financial arrangements with its partners shows that political risks remain high, even if the geological risks are lower than first supposed Issue 862, 9 October 2009. Read the full article
Moving from ‘hard’ to ‘soft’ security, Iraq pins hopes on fragile economic renaissance
The Maliki government faces a daunting task in the last year of its present mandate: not only must it maintain security improvements while its own forces replace departing Coalition troops, it must also create an economic renaissance in the teeth of a harsh fiscal squeeze. Failure on either count will lead to the unravelling of the current fragile peace which holds the promise of a normal future for its citizens. Issue 853, 15 May 2009 Read the full article
An evolving Sadrist movement survives to fight another day
The cadre of politicians that loosely follow Moqtada Al-Sadr’s leadership did surprisingly well in the provincial elections, given they were largely written off as being politically splintered and militarily humbled after 18 months of pummelling by government forces, operated by their rivals and supported by the United States. Issue 849, 13 March 2009.Read the full article
US intelligence casts doubt on Iraq blowback risk to neighbours
Across the US intelligence community there is a recognition that the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq is decreasing – to be replaced by Iraqi jihadists. This trend suggests that following the US-led surge’s successes the Iraqi conflict will enter a new phase, where the threat of ‘blowback’ may be reduced for the Gulf states but where Iraq itself remains in civil war and Iraqi-born jihadists emerge as a global threat. Issue 818, 23 Nov 2007.Read the full article
Prisoner abuse in Iraq: it’s not just another passing domestic news story
Rumsfeld’s Pentagon has inflicted real damage on the White House as Iraq’s transition and the US campaigning season begins. The prisoner abuse issue has the potential to turn US opinion against the occupation, with potentially incalculable consequences for the region. Issue 734, 14 May 2004.Read the full article
Iraq’s ‘Day After’ men face a long wait in the wings
The carpetbaggers are heading south and for companies, international organisations, and governments looking to position themselves with the expected post-Baathist Iraqi government the message is becoming increasingly clear – unless current trends reverse, Iraq will be governed by US statesmen and military leaders for 12-18 months. The ‘day after’ men of the external Iraqi opposition parties look likely to be relegated to ‘years-after’ men, fated to fill out the ranks of a future Iraqi legislature rather than the near-term executive branch. Issue 706, 21 March 2003.Read the full article
Iraq: War a near certainty
With only 30-40 days needed for the USA to mobilise its land forces and only six hours for the US and UK air forces to start a campaign to obliterate Saddam Hussein’s military industrial complex, war is no longer a possibility: it is a near certainty. States and other stakeholders worldwide are starting to understand this, creating what President Bush has called a slipstream effect which will draw reluctant allies into the conflict. Issue 700, 20 December 2002.Read the full article
Prime minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah in early December agreed to answer questions in parliament over the alleged misuse of funds. He is the first premier to agree to be called to account before the National Assembly – earlier attempts resulted in the resignation of the cabinet and new elections (GSN 826/1). Issue 868, 18 December 2009. Read the full article
Kuwaiti government caves in to populist calls by cancelling KDow deal
The breakdown of the deal between The Dow Chemical Company and Petrochemical Industries Company – in which the Kuwaiti state-owned PIC would take a 50% stake in the United States’ largest chemicals group for around $9bn in return for the Americans developing the emirate’s downstream value-added via the KDow joint venture – is unsurprising. Not only does the harsh global financial climate make the deal unattractive (Dow’s share price has more than halved over the last 12 months), but the Popular Bloc in the National Assembly and other Kuwaiti opponents have long fought against the government’s plans to open up the upstream and downstream hydrocarbons sectors to foreign companies: the KDow deal would have marked a significant precedent, which the state does not appear ready for yet. Issue 845, 16 January 2009.Read the full article
Kuwaiti role in Iraqi jihad gives cause for concern
The proportion of Kuwaiti fighters in Iraq has typically been considered to be tiny – a mere 1% according to AQI records captured by the United States late last year – so there was understandable concern when the Iraqi government recently announced the identification of 25 Kuwaiti fighters in Diyala province, one of AQI’s last remaining strongholds in Iraq. Issue 834, 23 July 2008. Read the full article
Sabah’s big gamble: new Emir faces the new shape of politics
Capable and efficient, but possibly over-reliant on traditional manoeuvres to maintain his hold on the political arena, Kuwait’s new Emir may have failed to read the mood of a country where exasperation at corruption has become widespread and campaigning is being reinvigorated by a more politicised youth. Issue 782, 26 May 2006.Read the full article
Sheikh Salem’s frankness forces Al-Sabah family rifts on Kuwait’s political agenda
Rarely have the internal affairs of a modern ruling family been so publicly debated, putting the nature of Al-Sabah rule on the wider political agenda. Succession issues remain unresolved, but the longer-term signs are that Kuwait is looking to a new social/political compact to regulate how the ruling family and wider political system interact. Issue 767, 14 October 2005.Read the full article
Sheikh Sabah’s boldness pays off at last to win Kuwaiti women the vote
A victory at last for Kuwaiti reformists, with the appointment of a first female minister romised following the passage of the breakthrough political rights law. The surprise development on 16 May was a triumph for Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed, who showed what can be done if the government goes for broke. Issue 758, 27 May 2005.Read the full article
Kuwait prepares uncomfortable front row seat
As US and UK forces build up for a new Gulf war, no country other than Iraq has more at stake in this stage of the conflict than Kuwait. In Kuwait City the sense of waiting, almost of expectation, is palpable. The usual turf wars and political sniping continue, but there is also an admirable sense of national purpose, with civil society groups playing an important role. Issue 704, 21 February 2003.Read the full article
More power, fewer friends
Iraq's President Saddam Hussein must be congratulating himself on a particularly good month. In pursuit of his blatantly obvious goal of establishing himself as the pre-eminent leader of the Arab world, he has bullied Opec into a new, coherent strategy on prices and production and scared the wits out of his Arab Gulf neighbours. Issue 391, 6 August 1990.Download the PDF
Restoration of democracy in Kuwait looks highly unlikely
Restoration of democracy in Kuwait looks highly unlikely after the Ruler, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed, rejected a petition from leading citizens calling for a new National Assembly. Issue 376, 11 December 1989. Download the PDF
MAP: Oman's hydrocarbons infrastructure and E&P potential Issue 847, 13 February 2009. (low resolution version) View the map
Gas on agenda for talks
Omani ministers have been talking up the relationship with Iran, whose importance was underlined by the visit to Tehran this summer of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al-Saeed (GSN 859/1). Issue 867, 4 December 2009. Read the full article
After the GCC’s Muscat summit, currency plan credibility hangs on acts, not words
Five country ratification is the first hurdle. Policy and structural detail will have to follow soon if markets are to take the GCC’s monetary union plan seriously.
This promises to be a crucial test year for the commitment of Gulf Co-operation Council members to their long discussed monetary union project. At December’s Muscat summit, GCC heads of state formally endorsed next steps for the scheme. Now they must clear the way for implementation, by ensuring that it is ratified at the national level. While few believe it is now practicable to introduce the planned new single currency at the beginning of 2010, there is a growing market expectation that GCC states need to rapidly finalise and publish the practical details, if they want the plan to be taken seriously. Issue 845, 16 January 2009.Read the full article
Oil price boom provides welcome relief for Oman after Gonu
Surging international oil prices have helped the Sultanate to confront a range of pressures after the cyclone.
Less richly endowed with hydrocarbons than many of its Arabian neighbours, Oman has always had to manage its petroleum income with care, but this year the cost of reconstruction after Cyclone Gonu has imposed unexpected pressures (GSN 808/1). A further complication is the threat of possible further sanctions against Iran, which could disrupt Oman’s developing trade and energy partnership with the Islamic Republic. Issue 817, 9 November 2007.Read the full article
Qaboos gets his FTA in the face of congressional Arabophobia
The House of Representatives has followed the Senate in narrowly approving the United States’ free trade agreement (FTA) with Oman – despite vigorous opposition from congressmen claiming it posed a security risk because companies from the Sultanate might end up running American ports. Issue 787, 4 August 2006.Read the full article
After elections, Oman faces challenge of reform
Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed inaugurated the third session of Oman’s joint majlis on 21 October with talk of the country’s “enterprise in the field of democratic action”, but although recent steps toward political reform in the Sultanate have looked good on paper, they have yet to satisfy a populace that would like more of a voice in the country’s affairs. Issue 721, 31 October 2003.Read the full article
A bitter past
The reconciliation agreement reached between Oman and South Yemen, signed in Kuwat at the end of October, brings to an end 15 years of confronatation and hostility by the two countries. Saudi Arabia Newsletter, Issue 84, 8-21 November 1982.Download the PDF
State Advisory Council formed
Not normally regarded as a political pace-setter in the region, the Sultanate of Oman has jumped ahead of some of its Gulf neighbours and set up a 45-member State Advisory Council. The Advisory Council, which is to be presided over by Khalfan Nin Nasser Al-Waheibi, the former labour minister, has been set up by a Royal Decree to "involve the public in development decisions as part of the efforts of the government towards a greater co-operation between the government and the private sector". Issue 174, 2-15 November 1981.Download the PDF
Qataris consider ways of keeping Iranians off their rigs
The problem of Iranian penetration of Qatar’s exclusive economic zones (EEZs) has long been a thorny one for the Qatari Emiri Navy (QEN), the emirate’s coast guard and Qatari Emiri Air Force (QEAF). GSN’s periodic surveys of the Project National Security Shield (NSS) system of radar and coastal surveillance has focused on the deep paranoia and touchiness that Doha feels when confronted with Iran’s powerful and unpredictable naval forces. With the giant North Field/South Pars gas reserve not yet unitised, the shared field still has a ‘wild west’ feel about it, with the Iranians and Qataris staking out their claims with rigs instead of fence posts. Issue 845, 16 January 2009. Read the full article
Terrorist fund-raising case shines light on Qatar’s sensitive role
A Qatari national’s presence on the US list of Specially Designated Global Terrorist Individuals says something about the love lost between Washington and Doha in recent years, and the continued undercurrent of jihadist activity in the region – also shown in the US designation of two Bahrainis, analysed in a separate article below. Issue 831, 13 June 2008. Read the full article
Qatar’s increasingly active Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad
Following his unexpected promotion to become Crown Prince, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani’s main public role appeared to be confined to sport – importing top grade foreign athletes and footballers, chairing an extraordinary meeting of football’s governing body FIFA in Doha, and – in a reflection of his father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani’s trust in him – heading up preparations to host the December 2006 Asian Games through the 15th Asian Games Panel. Issue 765, 16 September 2005.Read the full article
Saudi Arabia gets serious with Qatar
Fuller details, and potentially some sensational reports, will emerge later, but meetings between senior Qataris and Saudis in the south of France, with Kuwait’s good offices, point to the seriousness of the rift between neighbours. Sources say they want to quietly make up, but the dispute is complicated by personal differences. Issue 736, 11 June 2004.Read the full article
Qataris line up for a new political dispensation
Qatari notables are lining up to sit in the new parliament, after elections, probably to be held in 2005. As civil society gains momentum, can this tiny emirate provide a model for locally-inspired political development? Qatar’s first parliamentary poll is not expected until 2005, but members of the nominated Majlis Ash-Shura (Consultative Council) and municipal councils are already expressing interest in standing for national elected office. Issue 732, 16 April 2004. Read the full article
Islamist campaigners for constitutional reform have managed to sustain a permanent and openly declared organisation in the Kingdom for three months. Protests have usually consisted of one-off petitions or statements by groups of intellectuals, but the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) is maintaining a campaign presence through a series of statements and ‘letters to the King’ on its website Issue 870, 29 January 2010.Read the full article
Bandar ‘out of favour’ over alleged freelance contacts with disaffected military
Controversy over the whereabouts of former Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdelaziz has been reignited by comments made on Iran’s Al-Alam TV by the exiled Islamist oppositionist Saad Al-Fagih. Issue 859, 7 August 2009.Read the full article
Saudi foreign policy: Obama will find a self-confident Kingdom that states its terms
In little over three years of rule, King Abdullah’s Saudi Arabia has steadily gained in diplomatic confidence. It’s not just because of its wealth that Riyadh is now a major destination on the foreign policy map for international leaders. Saudi Arabia has emerged as a partner that knows its own mind, able to forge policy that is in line with the government’s view of national self-interest but which also pushes a positive global and regional agenda. Issue 840, 7 November 2008.Read the full article
Old style sponsorship to go as Saudis move to overhaul an outmoded labour regime
Domestic human rights campaigns and international pressure have combined to persuade an increasingly image-conscious government down the path of a reform that has social and economic implications for the whole region. Issue 837, 29 September 2008.Read the full article
Iraq returnees fuel jihadi terror threat to Saudi Arabia
Insurgency fighters are trickling back to Saudi Arabia and appear to be planning a new home front, choosing targets that will reduce the risk of alienating the public. Some elements of a divided government see conservative preachers as allies in countering this threat. Issue 802, 30 March 2007.Read the full article
Fahd’s illness restores Saudi dynastic rivalries to centre stage
Optimistic health bulletins are not enough to dispel questions about Saudi Arabia’s long-term future. GSN examines the political and security aspects surrounding what many believe is King Fahd’s final illness. Issue 759, 10 June 2005. Read the full article
Saudi leadership pressured by reformists and reactionaries
The struggle for influence between Saudi modernisation campaigners and conservatives in the religious establishment and royal family is putting heavy pressure on Crown Prince Abdullah. All sides are waiting to see how he will translate months of reformist talk into concrete action. Issue 726, 23 January 2004.Read the full article
Saudi dialogue brings many voices to bear on reform
Though tangible results are as yet hard to discern, the reform programme being pushed by Crown Prince Abdallah Bin Abdelaziz gathered momentum in Riyadh with a mid-June “national dialogue” attended by representatives of a broad spectrum of Saudi opinion.For the first time, clerics and intellectuals espousing various shades of the official Wahhabi strand of Islam met formally to debate with representatives of the minority Shia and Ismaili communities, as well as liberals and technocrats. Issue 713, 27 June 2003. Read the full article
US covers all bases in search for airfield deployment options
The cooling of Saudi/US. relations has many implications for U.S. regional strategy, none more so than the possible loss of access to the region’s most advanced and best positioned airfields. This could prompt Washington to further reconsider its regional relationships, even with such pariahs as Iran and Yemen—although there are clear limits to this policy. Issue 678, 23 January 2002. Read the full article
UAE’s US ties flourish as Emirates seek to become a different kind of US ally
The UAE has deliberately stepped up its rhetoric to support US policy in the region while the Obama administration is settling in and preparing to receive its first briefings on Centcom’s region-wide assessment of Gulf policy. Personal and collaborative technology relations between the two militaries have become very close, even on such thorny policy issues as Iran’s nuclear programme. Issue 847, 13 February 2009. Read the full article
Abu Dhabi rides high over global financial crisis, remakes itself as a post-modern urban centre
An increasingly assertive Abu Dhabi is looking to draw in international partners and assets, to consolidate its traditional position as the UAE’s federal capital and engineering hub, and to emerge as the Gulf city that uses its wealth to plan development with respect for social traditions and environmental constraints while emerging as a significant new international player. GSN examines the oil-rich emirate’s growth strategy and attitudes towards spending money – at home and on less wealthy emirates. Issue 840, 7 November 2008.Read the full article
Banker arrests send signal about Dubai, region’s financial probity
A recent round of arrests in Dubai over alleged financial irregularities at Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), a local property developer and Dubai Financial Market-listed Deyaar Development has been unusually widely publicised, sparking calls for better compliance and transparency. It reflects another step in emerging Gulf financial centres’ efforts to win inter national credibility by emphasising their probity; this was a selling point for traditional hub Bahrain, which has been embraced with some zest by Dubai, Qatar and other ambitious (and PR-savvy) financial players. Issue 832, 30 June 2008. Read the full article
MBR means business in cabinet reshuffle
Mohammed Bin Rashid is stamping his mark on the UAE’s government, with a focus on efficient administration rather than political or market liberalisation. Issue 824, 29 February 2008.Read the full article
Diplomacy: Qatar and the UAE’s most effective tool for security
Leaders of the smaller GCC states are increasingly prominent in the foreign visits they make. Such hectic international networking is not just for show: the newer generation of Gulf leaders see it delivering at a number of levels – not least helping to give them the security they crave. Issue 811, 3 August 2007.Read the full article
RAK plans to be offshore hub of the region
In an attempt to continue diversifying and growing RAK’s economy, Crown Prince Sheikh Saud and his team of business advisors are planning to capture a portion of the region’s offshore market through the latest development, RAK Offshore. Issue 809, 6 July 2007. Read the full article
Khalifa consolidates alliances for the post-Zayed era
With the death of Sheikh Zayed, the Gulf has lost its most revered leader, a historic figure who carefully shaped the future of UAE politics by lining up an orderly succession with Sheikh Khalifa already named as federal President and Abu Dhabi ruler, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed’s position formalised as a powerful Crown Prince. Amid a 40-day period of official mourning for its founding President and Abu Dhabi’s Ruler Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahayan, the United Arab Emirates is entering a new and unfamiliar era. After more than three decades at the helm, ‘Baba Zayed’ incarnated the UAE’s singular combination of modernisation and tradition; his person commanded great respect abroad and genuine popular love at home. Issue 745, 12 November 2004. Read the full article
RAK shake-up favours business interests over political reform
Personal rivalries and profound disagreement about the direction and pace of reform appear to have been behind the unexpected change of leadership in Ras Al-Khaimah, the northernmost of the seven United Arab Emirates. The 14 June appointment of Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al-Qasimi as Crown Prince, displacing his elder half-brother Sheikh Khalid, indicates that social and political reform may be taking a back seat to the progress of business activity in the Emirate. Family rifts and tussles over everyday government decisions in RAK contributed to the decision to sack Sheikh Khalid, who had held the post of Crown Prince for more than 40 years. Issue 713, 27 June 2003. Read the full article
Did the Fujairah shooting draw the UAE into the war on terror?
Was it a one-off or the harbinger of things to come in the lower Gulf region? A 21 November shooting incident at Al-Fujairah Airport was treated quietly but still rang alarm bells in the UAE and among Western planners. The only airport on the UAE’s east coast, Fujairah is a small but integral hub in the US military’s regional logistics infrastructure. Issue 699, 6 December 2002.Read the full article
Reform ideas gain pace among UAE opinion-makers
The appointment of women to the Federal National Council (FNC) next year appears increasingly probable as prominent Emiratis press the case for political modernisation with ever more boldness. While direct elections to the FNC still appear to be some way off, there is a growing expectation of substantial changes to the Council’s composition and powers when the regular triennial renewal of its membership falls due in 2002. Issue 676, 12 December 2001.Read the full article
Maktoums flushed with success, hungry for more
Boom or Bust? Dubai’s position as the Gulf’s glitzy, regional headquarters is being consolidated with frantic activity to create a city of the future, visible in every direction from new Creek-side developments to the flagship Bourj Al-Arab hotel complex and the Nadh Al-Sheba racetrack. The leadership’s decision to proceed with the Palm Island resort—two giant fake palm tree-shaped islands off the coast to house the swelling ranks of tourists—is the latest sign of the Al-Makhtoum family’s belief in Dubai’s future as a global hub, along the lines of Asian tiger Singapore. Issue 661, 14 May 2001.Read the full article
Sheikh Zayed returns to a testing agenda
Ruler of Abu Dhabi and UAE. President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahayan has returned home from hospital treatment in the U.S.A. to a crowded and discouraging international agenda. Like other Western allies, his government has felt impelled by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to distance itself from Washington’s tough stance towards Iraq, and it has also become embroiled in a fresh verbal dust-up with Iran over the disputed islands of Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunbs. Issue 651,18 December 2000.Read the full article
The death of the Al-Tamimi brigade’s Hamza Al-Qayti deprived the jihadist movement of a senior leader and suggested that the security forces may have turned the tide against ‘Al-Qaeda’s’ Jund Al-Yemen arm, following confidence-sapping attacks in H2 2007 and H1 2008. But it is premature to say that the threat has gone away. Issue 835, 1 September 2008.Read the full article
Somali pirates take on allcomers in Gulf of Aden
An increasing number of pirate attacks is likely in the Gulf of Aden throughout this year, according to GSN’s sources in the maritime security world, as the ‘Somali Marines’ stake their claim to the waterway. Issue 828, 5 May 2008.Read the full article
Major rioting in Aden underlines growing north/south splits
A series of major riots on 12-14 January left at least two Yemeni civilians dead and scores wounded as unemployed southern soldiers and civilians protested at declining economic conditions and north/south inequities. Issue 821, 21 January 2008.Read the full article
United States backs Saleh in Houthi confrontation
US ambassador Thomas Krajeski has assured the government of Washington’s backing in its struggle to quell the Houthi rebellion in the north of the country (GSN 799/1). Despite reports of heavy casualties, and allegations that the army has directly targeted civilian homes and markets around the regional capital Saada, Washington appears to have no qualms in maintaining its support for President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key strategic ally in the ‘war on terror’. Issue 800, 2 March 2007.Read the full article
Yemen and friends struggle to rebuild potentially failing state
Yemenis are excited about the prospects for new investment, while much speculation focuses on impending presidential elections, but most sources were far more concerned about enduring factors of instability that threaten the state’s viability, when they talked to GSN in Sanaa. Issue 780, 28 April 2006. Read the full article
Border dispute repaired
Saudi Arabia and Yemen have come to an understanding in their border dispute after talks in Riyadh, although the Saudis do not appear to have given ground in their insistence on an unusual security barrier, an elevated concrete-filled pipeline the Kingdom’s authorities have installed across a stretch of the mutual border zone. Issue 728, 20 February 2004. Read the full article
Yemen caught between US rock and Islamist hard place
Afghanistan’s Taliban are preparing for a US air strike in retribution for the Kabul regime playing host to Saudi-born renegade Osama Bin Laden—according to many reports the prime suspect behind the 12 October bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 US sailors. According to the version being pushed by US officials, the extent of organisation which went into the attack suggested it was long in the planning, linked to a revival of operations by Bin Laden and his allies, rather than any short-term reaction to events in Gaza and the West Bank. Issue 648, 6 November 2000.Read the full article
Saudi Arabia: Border deal with Yemen
Quietly and with little ceremony, Saudi Arabia and Yemen signed a border deal in Jeddah, apparently ending the 66-year old dispute that has been intensively negotiated over the last five years. Issue 639, 26 June 2000, p7.Download the PDF.
Ali Abdullah Saleh becomes Yemen’s first directly elected president
To no-one’s surprise, Ali Abdullah Saleh won an outright victory in Yemen’s presidential elections, with 96.3% of the vote. Issue 621, 4 October 1999. Download the PDF.
