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Fincantieri patrol vessel launch The technical launch of the first of two offshore patrol vessels ordered from Fincantieri took place on 18 September at the Italian company’s Muggiano shipyard.

Royal Court advisor and former economy and planning minister Mohammed Maziad Al-Tuwaijri survived the first round of the hunt for a new director general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), progressing on 18 September to the next stage alongside Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee, Kenya’s Amina Mohamed and the UK’s Liam Fox.

Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was born in 1938 and, until being named crown prince in early October, had been serving as lieutenant-general and deputy chief of staff of the Kuwait National Guard since 2004 with the rank of minister. Mishaal is by most accounts well-respected within the ruling family and could act as a bridge between the various Al-Sabah factions.

Ahad Bint Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, wife of Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said, made a relatively rare public appearance in early October, travelling to Kuwait to offer condolences to the women of the ruling Al-Sabah family on the death of Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Sayyida Ahad traveled with a delegation of women from the Oman royal family and other, high-ranking Omani women.

National Intelligence Agency of Israel (Mossad) director Yossi Cohen visited Bahrain on 30 September, in the wake of their Abraham Accord. In Manama, Cohen held talks with National Intelligence Agency president Lieutenant-General Adel Bin Khalifa Al-Fadhel, and Strategic Security Bureau chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Abdelaziz Al-Khalifa.

Dubai’s total debts are likely to be far higher than the $33.6bn the emirate stated in a $2bn bond and sukuk prospectus last month, according to London-based Capital Economics.

Announcing job losses and investment cutbacks, many of Big Oil’s flagship companies have been making dramatic announcements of changes in strategic direction. This is most marked among European majors BP, Eni, Royal Dutch Shell and Total, if not by their US peers ExxonMobil and Chevron Corporation; it suggests that many industry leaders now see their futures as diversified energy companies, rather than old-style international oil companies (IOCs).

The impact of Bahrain’s Abraham Accord seems to be of a much lower order than the UAE’s relations with Israel, but details have emerged of ties that were, until now, unacknowledged. Israeli military censors have now allowed papers to publish details of the covert diplomatic mission Israel appears to have maintained in Bahrain since at least 2009.

Saudi ambassador to the UK Prince Khalid Bin Bandar held a meeting on 26 October with a panel of three MPs investigating the detention of former Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef (MBN) and Prince Ahmed Bin Abdelaziz.

Petroleum Development of Oman has awarded more than $1bn-worth of drilling and other services contracts to Gulf Energy, a local subsidiary of US-based oilfield services provider National Energy Services Reunited. The contracts are for up to nine years. In Oman’s energy sector downturn, crude production fell by 7.5% January-August, according to National Centre for Statistics and Information data.

Qatar’s future parliamentarians will have legislative powers, the right of veto over the budget and be able to scrutinise ministers — but only two-thirds will be elected, under the proposed new Constitution. One-third of the 45-member Legislative Council — probably including ministers — will be nominated by Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who will decide when the Constitution is put into effect, probably by early in 2003.

Taking account of the slow pace of US vote-counting, and in some cases their mixed emotions and perceived loyalties, it was several days before Gulf leaders began to send in their congratulations to the Biden-Harris team. By 7 November, four days after polls had closed, the messages began to pour in. UAE federal Vice President, Prime Minister and Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum tweeted: “We look forward to strengthening our five-decade enduring and strategic relations.”

Culture minister Prince Badr Bin Abdullah Bin Farhan has argued that the coronavirus pandemic should encourage governments to do more to develop the “cultural economy” – a term covering everything from films to national heritage sites, museums, art, cuisine and books – in an effort to revive their wider economic fortunes.

Kuwait is preparing for legislative elections on 5 December in what is shaping into one of the most important polls in recent history. Candidate registration closed on 4 November, by when 395 individuals had put  themselves forward. That is significantly down from the last election in 2016, when 440 candidates signed up. Among the new crop are 33 women, the largest number of female contenders yet.

Risk Management Report – GSN Risk Grade – E↓5↓ POLITICS: Confronted by conflict, which has exacerbated multiple humanitarian crises, Yemen has long teetered on the verge of collapse and ‘failed state’ status (GSN’s political risk category F).