Issue 1,177 leads with the complex relationship between Saudi Arabia and Israel, amid speculation fuelled by key decision-makers that an unprecedented normalisation deal might be in the works.
Alongside this major diplomatic initiative are plans to develop a regional corridor that could tie the former belligerents closer together. GSN examines the India-Europe trade corridor plan, launched at the early September G20 summit, which could be developed as a counter to rival schemes that have Iranian, Iraqi, Russian and Turkish backing.
Several regional disputes are discussed in GSN’s Politics section, including analysis of the Iraqi Constitutional Court’s intervention over a waterway shared with Kuwait. Iran, meanwhile, is concerned about Azerbaijan’s conflict with Armenia and fears for its own borders. Tensions around Kurdish communities are also analysed.
Kuwaiti politics and society are increasingly dominated by conservative religious and tribal factions after Islamists and Salafists made progress in recent National Assembly elections. GSN outlines the move towards gender segregation and other policies that depart from Kuwait’s traditional constitutional values and asks how the Al-Sabah leadership has reacted.
GSN’s Energy and Industry section reports the success of the Saudi/Russian Opec+ alliance, which has pushed crude prices above $90 per barrel – a level that could be sustained through 2024.
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