Search results

The sale of 25% of the shares in OQ Exploration and Production could raise up to $2bn, according to some estimates.

Ras Al-Khaimah’s Ruler Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr travelled to Xiamen, Fujian province on 6 September to deliver a speech to a trade fair and meet officials and business executives, ahead of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the UAE and China.

The clampdown on alleged citizenship fraud began in May, with three waves of cancellations since late August. At the same time, the government is making it harder for foreigners to acquire Kuwaiti citizenship.

China’s Premier Li Qiang has called for faster progress on free trade negotiations with the GCC during a trip to Riyadh. At the same time, the GCC has been holding trade talks with Indonesia and Turkey, Oman has been pursuing a bilateral deal with India, and the UAE has been making changes to its approach to trade pacts after mixed results from its initial deals.

The real estate developer and the sovereign wealth fund will work together to develop retail assets and build luxury properties on two small islands off the coasts of Saadiyat and Yas Islands.

The Abu Dhabi-based developer has bought a 745MW portfolio of wind and solar assets in Spain and Portugal, and reached financial close on a 154MW wind farm in Serbia, continuing what has been an active year of deal-making in Europe by the company.

Saudi Arabia is said to be considering dropping its unofficial price target of $100/bbl in favour of chasing market share. Concerns around the wars involving Israel and Iran and its proxies could help to sustain oil prices, although there is a risk of a disorderly break-up of the Opec+ agreement between oil cartel Opec and other major producers including Russia.

The barrage of up to 200 ballistic missiles Tehran fired at Israel on 1 October was the latest in a series of escalatory steps taken by Israel and Iran, as a conflict that began in Gaza a year ago threatens to spread across the region. Arab Gulf states have largely been bystanders to the events, but could yet fulfil important roles – by providing mediation, influencing allies and helping to stabilise energy markets.

Saudi Arabia is trying to close the gap in artificial intelligence infrastructure with the UAE, by building up its network of data centres, developing more large language models and investing in local AI companies. Many thorny issues still need to be addressed though, including ideas around ‘digital sovereignty’ and the huge power requirements of the sector.

In decades past, Saudi Arabia used to try and extend its international influence by leveraging its status as the home of Islam’s holiest cities and by funding mosques and madrassas around the world. That strategy often drew unfavourable attention and these days it seems to pay more attention to garnering favourable coverage from social media influencers or hosting sporting events. Might artificial intelligence offer another path to promote its soft power status?

After a 12-year gap, Saudi Arabia has reopened its diplomatic base in Damascus, although ambassador Faisal Bin Saud Al-Mejfel has yet to take up his post in the Syrian capital.

The General Company for Ports of Iraq and the Ministry of Transport launched an appeal in a US court in mid-September, in the latest attempt to frustrate a $120m arbitral award owed to Cyprus-based Archirodon Construction.

Abdulwahid Qarata won a run-off vote on 14 September, coming from behind to beat Ibrahim Al-Sheikh who had topped the poll in the first round of voting a week earlier.

Iran’s ambassador to Beirut, Mojtaba Amani, was among those injured when explosives hidden in pagers were detonated across Lebanon on the afternoon of 17 September, in a campaign targeting members of Hizbollah and the group’s allies.

President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ)’s visit to the White House on 23 September was the first by a sitting UAE head of state. Against a backdrop of rising violence in Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan, the main breakthroughs were promises of greater co-operation in defence and artificial intelligence.