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The reshuffle ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) on 30 August downsized Khalid Al-Falih’s bureaucratic empire, as one of the Saudi economy’s major players was replaced as chairman of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco), while his sprawling Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources empire was broken up. MBS’s favoured vehicle for enacting economic reform, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has gained further ground in the Saudi business and policy hierarchy, as its head Yasir Al-Rumayyan is taking over as Aramco chairman.

The mountainous province in Saudi Arabia's south-west has been earmarked as a future centre for tourism, notwithstanding the threats posed by attacks from Houthi rebels across the border in Yemen. Asir could be a model for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s post-oil development ambitions, as well as for more short-term efforts to stabilise potentially restless populations.

The position of opposition figures exiled in Turkey is the hottest issue being debated on social media – a reflection of the issue’s importance to many Kuwaitis and why the exiles are playing such a part in the national dialogue intended to build bridges between a government weakened by Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed’s frequent absences for treatment in Germany and a fractious parliament’s determination to block vital legislation needed to kick-start the stagnating economy.

Much coverage of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) has implied the young prince, still only 31, emerged from nowhere when his father became king in January 2015. But MBS had been on the scanners on more assiduous Saudi-watchers for some time. Below is a Royals watch note from issue 898 of GSN, published on 8 April 2011, which recorded the young prince’s “more visible presence”.Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdelaziz opened a ceremony for the National Association of Retired Persons in Riyadh on 21 March [2011].

Faisal Abdullatif Al-Hamad has resigned from the board of directors of the Kuwait Investment Authority, which oversees Kuwait’s sovereign wealth funds, only three months after his appointment.

Probably not the region’s worst offender, Doha has bristled about western criticism of its human rights record before and during the football World Cup, with comments from German government ministers proving a particular irritation. However, European politicians have other concerns about Qatari actions closer to home, with a corruption scandal involving alleged influence-peddling in the European Parliament among the issues that could threaten Doha’s perceptions of which allies are most worth cultivating.

Manama and Doha took a significant step towards reconciliation at the Jeddah Summit for Security and Development, with a face-to-face meeting between Bahraini King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani.

Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani arrived in Washington on 30 January for a two-day official visit – the first by a Gulf leader since President Joe Biden took office one year ago.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani named foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al-Thani as prime minister in March, following the resignation of Sheikh Khalid Bin Khalifa Bin Abdelaziz Al-Thani, who had been premier since January 2020. Tamim’s youngest full-brother Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani  was named interior minister, a position Khalid Bin Khalifa had also held.

Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani hosted United States secretary of state Antony Blinken for the fifth round of the US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue on 22 November, just as the football Fifa World Cup was getting under way. On the agenda were the Iran nuclear deal, instability in Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Palestine, and food and fuel security issues.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been looking to buy into established local operators in a move to counter criticism – if not to chairman Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS)’s face – of the slow pace of its investment in the kingdom, compared to high-profile international deals such as motor company Lucid in the US and Newcastle United football club in the UK.

The powerful Public Investment Fund (PIF) in mid-December said its total employee count had surpassed 1,000, with 300 staff joining in 2020 as Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s pet entity beefed up its team. A few days later the fund announced the appointment of several more senior management members.  The fund remains very busy, with major new investments in the defence and security sectors.

Doha has been busy setting up new trade links and expanding its logistics options in the wake of the blockade led by neighbours Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE (the ‘GCC-3’). Iran sent its first shipment of food, consisting of 180 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, on 14 June. That has been followed by many more consignments arriving via air and sea. New cargo services have been launched between Hamad port and both Sohar port in Oman and Mundra and Nhava Sheva ports in India.

The deal at Al-Ula reflected Qatar’s determination to achieve a close to the three and a half-year boycott, but only on terms that didn’t compromise Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, sources in Doha told GSN. “Qatar has been ready to come to the table for a while, so long as they didn’t have to cross red lines,” a Doha-based analyst said – which would mean not cutting ties with Iran and Turkey, or declaring the Houthis in Yemen or Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimeen (the Muslim Brotherhood) are ‘terrorists’.

The approaching political transition in the United States is focusing minds across the region. It could lead to at least a partial diplomatic resolution of the Qatar dispute, which has been the defining feature of relations within the Gulf Co-operation Council since June 2017. Saudi Arabia’s public tone has softened, but there are fewer signs of movement from Abu Dhabi.