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The Riyadh-based Hevolution Foundation, set up in 2018 and now jointly run by Princess Haya Bint Khalid Bin Bandar Al-Saud and former Mayo Clinic endocrinologist Mehmood Khan, is due to hold its inaugural Global Healthspan Summit in late November. The event will focus on extending healthy years of life and announce investments in the sector. 

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum launched a generative artificial intelligence (AI) competition in early November, with prizes of AED1m ($272,000) available for winners of the Global Prompt Engineering Championship.

Houthi forces in Yemen have continued to launch missiles and drones towards Israel. A drone from Yemen was shot down over the Red Sea in mid-November by the United States Navy destroyer USS Thomas Hudner.

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron made a surprise return to the British government when he was appointed foreign secretary. During his time as premier, from 2010 to 2016, he did much to expand relations with the Gulf states.

Kuwait recorded a KD6.5bn ($21bn) surplus for fiscal year ending 31 March 2023, its first annual surplus since 2014/15.

Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has attempted to cement his status within the political arena and strengthen his profile among local citizens since he was named Abu Dhabi’s crown prince on 29 March, in a move which put the 41 year-old first in line to succeed his father, President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ). 

While Qatar has not signed up to the Abraham Accords to normalise ties with Israel, it has developed a viable working relationship with the Israeli government over recent years, particularly in regard to funding and other aid to Hamas-run Gaza.

A 60-year operating licence for the fourth and final unit at the UAE's Barakah nuclear power plant was issued to Nawah Energy Company by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation. The plant will have a total generation capacity of 5.6GW once complete.

Saudi Arabia's energy minister Prince Abdelaziz Bin Salman Bin Abdelaziz  announced in November that Saudi Aramco had discovered two natural gas fields in the Empty Quarter, at the Al-Hiran and Al-Mahakik fields.

Qatar Foundation (QF) chair Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser led a roundtable discussion in Doha in November to review the humanitarian situation in Gaza and ways to provide support to Palestinians.

Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said presided over the opening of the eighth term of the Council of Oman (parliament) on 14 November. On 18 November, he reviewed a miliary parade at Adam Air Base in Dakhiliya Governorate, held to mark Oman's 53rd National Day.

The work schedule is unrelenting for Qatari Prime Minister and foreign affairs minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al-Thani, who flew into Manama for talks with Bahraini Prime Minister and Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa on 17 November – to cement bilateral ties as well as discuss the situation in Gaza. 

Leaders from the 15-strong Caribbean Community (Caricom) arrived in Riyadh mid-November for the first Saudi-Caricom summit.  Separately, Saudi ambassador to the UN Abdelaziz Bin Mohammed Al-Wasel signed protocols to establish diplomatic relations with Micronesia and Nauru. 

Risk grades: Abu Dhabi A1, Dubai A2. RAK’s Russian links: A delegation from the Ural region of Russia visited Ras Al-Khaimah in early November, comprising business owners involved in real estate, engineering services, IT development, food production and investment.

The usual dizzying number of civil and military contracts were unveiled at the mid-November Dubai Airshow where, included among the 54 deals signed by the UAE government's Tawazun Council, was an air defence order with the unknown Black Diamond company, which GSN's research suggests is an Israeli venture created after Abu Dhabi's Abraham Accord was concluded.