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Brooge Holdings wholly owns the Fujairah-based Brooge Petroleum and Gas Investment Company (BPGIC), which was established in February 2013 by Husam Al-Ameri, an Iraqi, and Hind Mohammed Muktar Ahmed and Odhaid Al-Mansouri, both Emiratis. In 2014 Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, son of President Sheikh Khalifa, became a majority shareholder with 51% of the equity.

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan’s son Sheikh Sultan has successfully fought off the final part of a $360m claim against him in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)’s Court of First Instance. In a judgement issued on 11 September, Justice Ali Al-Madhani dismissed the claim brought by Abu Alhaj Holding but ordered Sheikh Sultan to pay the claimant’s costs.

The UAE has set its sights on carving out a leading international role in artificial intelligence, with national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled Bin Mohammed vying for national AI leadership – but the pursuit of the powerful technology is also causing friction with the US

The Abu Dhabi Crown’s sons, particularly Sheikhs Theyab and Khalid, continue to build up their public profile, taking on an increasing number of roles in moves linked to the accumulation of power around MBZ. Recent apponitments have added to speculation they are being considered for a future succession.

There is rising speculation about the potential for Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ)’s eldest son, Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, to fill the role of UAE crown prince. Khalid cut his administrative teeth in the security sector and since 2021 has played a leading role in running the Abu Dhabi government.

It has been two weeks since UAE President and ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan had a stroke, and there has been little news about his prospects for recovery. Following the stroke on 24 January, he underwent surgery, and has been described since as “stable”; statements issued by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) on 26 January and 3 February have clearly been intended to reassure, and quell rumours that have inevitably been circulating about his death.

Oman’s Crown Prince Theyazin Bin Haitham had words of praise for President Vladimir Putin and one of Russia’s most senior bankers, Andrei Kostin, while in Moscow to attend an investment forum in early December. The visit to Russia, followed by a trip to Abu Dhabi a few days later to meet UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, suggests the Omani crown prince may be seeking to build up his international profile.

Senior Gulf figures travelled to Tokyo for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on 27 September. Abe was murdered on 8 July, while campaigning in the country’s general election.

Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Saeed Bin Shakhbut Al-Nahyan has been ordered to pay most of his opponent’s costs in a recently concluded action in the High Court in London. Sheikh Tahnoun had claimed some €15m ($18.4m) from Greek businessman Ioannis Kent following the failure of a venture to develop a number of luxury hotels in Greece. Kent in turn made a claim for damages from Sheikh Tahnoun for the same amount.

It is no surprise that decision-making in Abu Dhabi can often seem opaque when there are various similarly named councils and a huge number of ruling family members involved in various levels of government. Here, GSN tracks the membership of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and analyses its current make-up

Publicity surrounding former national security adviser John Bolton’s incendiary memoir of his period in the White House* has focused on President Donald Trump’s relations with China and dealings with Ukraine that might have been shared during the 2019 impeachment proceedings. Bolton’s longstanding fixation with Iran gets substantial play, including confirmation that Trump in mid-2019 urged Shinzo Abe to act as a mediator with Tehran, leading to the first Japanese prime ministerial visit to Tehran since 1978.

Funeral prayers for cousin

The death of Emirati Sheikha Maryam Bint Abdullah Bin Sulayem Al-Falasi was announced in February. She was the mother of Sheikha Salama Bint Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan, the wife of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ).

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) travelled to the King Fahd Air Base in Taif, Saudi Arabia, on 26 April, to inspect the UAE forces taking part in operations in Yemen. Welcomed by Saudi defence minister Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), the Emirati delegation included the crown prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed, MBZ’s brothers Hazza, Nahyan, Said, Tahnoun and Theyab, and a few ministers of state, military commanders and members of MBZ’s trusted inner circle.

UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan visited Tehran on 6 December for talks with President Ebrahim Raisi and Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Shamkhani, in a further sign of a concerted effort from both sides to improve relations.