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US President Joe Biden’s imminent trip to the Middle East has prompted renewed discussion about the idea of a region-wide defence pact to counter Iran. Such ideas have long been floated for the GCC states alone – and always failed due to a lack of commitment among the six countries to pool their defence resources and command-and-control structures. The talk these days is of an even wider arrangement, involving the likes of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Israel.

Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca) chair Sheikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa has been dismissed from her post, after reportedly refusing to shake hands with Israel’s ambassador to Bahrain Eitan Naeh.

The first batch of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft for the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) arrived at Dukhan Airbase on 27 August, watched by Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, minister of state for defence affairs Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, Qatar Armed Forces chief of staff Lieutenant General Salem Bin Hamad Bin Aqeel Al-Nabit and Qatar Amiri Air Force commander Brigadier General Jassem Mohamed Al-Mannai.

Monaco-based Marss Group said in early September that it had signed a multi-million euro contract to provide a solar-powered perimeter surveillance system. The company did not identify its Saudi customer.

Sheikha Mahra Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, a daughter of Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and the Greek-born Zoe Grigorakos, graduated with a degree in international relations from an unspecified university in London. Mahra (sometimes known as Christina) will turn 29 years old later in February.

Qatar's Sheikh Thani Bin Hamad Al-Thani inaugurated the Aisha Bint Hamad Al-Attiyah Hospital in the Moroccan coastal city of Safi on 20 January, on behalf of Father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani.

Kuwaiti diplomat Abdullah Abdulsamad Dashti was appointed United Nations Co-ordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The initiative was launched by Ukraine, Turkey, Russia and the UN to enable exports of grain, foodstuffs and fertiliser from Ukraine via a safe maritime corridor.

Saudi defence minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman was in London on 13 December for talks with his counterpart Ben Wallace and to sign a new bilateral defence agreement.

The United States has approved a request from Doha to buy a $1bn anti-drone system. The approval, announced on 29 November by the US State Department, covers ten anti-drone systems from defence companies Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, including 200 Coyote Block 2 interceptors, launch systems, radars, and other related equipment.

That the legendary late head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp’s Quds Force, Qassim Soleimani, has not been forgotten following his January 2020 assassination by the United States was underlined by a 2 November tweet on Iranian Rahbar (Supreme Leader) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Twitter account.

Manama continues to make efforts to enhance its credentials for freedom of religion, with King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa holding talks with the Indian Orthodox Church supreme leader Pope Moran Mar Baselios Marthoma Mathews III at Al-Safriya Palace.

Qatar’s Municipal elections came and went in mid-March attracting a lot of international attention, generating some excitement within the country and laying down an important, if undramatic, landmark in the progress of political reform in the Gulf. The participation of women as voters and candidates was the critical issue.As one might expect, bearing in mind the small numbers of voters and candidates, the elections ran smoothly and the turnout of registered voters was high; some 90-95% in Doha and 60-75% in rural areas.

Ambassador Hunina Al-Mughairy has stepped down after almost 15 years in the United States. Al-Mughairy took up the post in December 2005, having previously worked as the representative of the Omani Center for Investment Promotion and Export Development in New York.

Emirati Sheikh Hazza Bin Sultan Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has joined cryptocurrency venture IslamicCoin as a member of its advisory board. Hazza joins four other UAE royals who make up the current advisory board.

Sheikh Arhama Bin Saud Bin Khaled Al-Qasimi has been named director of the office of Ras Al-Khaimah Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Saud Bin Saqr Al-Qasimi. Arhama had previously served as director of the crown prince’s media office.