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Regional elections are expected, with further delays: A polling day for the long-delayed sixth set of elections to the Kurdistan Parliament has yet to be announced. In August 2023, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) President Nechirvan Barzani issued a decree scheduling the elections for 25 February.

After Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah took exception to comments by a member of parliament about his inaugural speech as ruler in December, the emir issued a decree on 15 February to disband the National Assembly – meaning a fresh general election must be held by mid-April.

The Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (Dimdex) featured a Russian naval vessel and Iranian anti-ship missiles, alongside western defence firms. Not only did Dimdex accommodate an unusual line-up of government participants, the organisers said a record number of contracts were signed

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

Bahrain has set up diplomatic relations with Vanuatu and Qatar with Tonga in a continuation of the trend for Gulf states to expand their diplomatic and development ties with small Pacific Island nations.

Hassan Al-Shehi has presented his credentials, to become the first UAE ambassador in Damascus since 2011, adding further to a bilateral relationship that seemed broken when Abu Dhabi supported opposition groups in the Syrian civil war’s early years.

Revised February 2024, this map of the Gulf illustrates military infrastructure across the region.  The locations of various military bases are displayed alongside each country's military spending and numbers of various military personnel.  The map is available as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is setting up a joint venture with BP focused on natural gas exploration and production in Egypt.

Revised February 2024, this map illustrates Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdistan's oil and gas infrastructure. The locations of onshore and offshore oil and gas fields and pipelines, along with the owning companies of each, are marked with associated infrastructure which includes oil refineries, gas processing plants, tanker terminals and LNG facilities. The map is available as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

The Independent ran a series of interviews with Al-Saud family members in late February in an advertorial campaign to promote the $20m Saudi Cup horse race. GSN asks who was talking up the event and the background to the British newspaper’s partial Saudi ownership.

Edge’s radar venture will target non-Nato customers, in a similar arrangement to a recent agreement between Edge and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to manufacture frigates in Abu Dhabi

Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani’s government is looking for a new international partner to take on Shell’s 49% stake in the 1.8m t/yr Nebras petrochemicals project in Basra province, after the European major pulled out of the much-delayed scheme

Sultan Haitham landed back in Muscat on 27 February, following a 19-day trip to the United Kingdom

In a $66.5m deal with Houston-headquartered Vaalco Energy, Saudi-Ethiopian businessman Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi is selling Svenska Petroleum Exploration, his Sweden-based oil company that has been up for sale since bankruptcy proceedings were launched against Al-Amoudi’s Petroswede in early 2023

As predicted for some months, the UAE has been removed from the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring maintained by the Financial Action Task Force, even though some claim little has really changed.