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Qatar rapprochement: Efforts to rebuild relations between Manama and Doha are continuing, following a series of contacts between leading figures from both countries in January and February, including a phone call between Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and Bahrain’s Prime Minister and Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa in late January and a meeting between their foreign ministers in Riyadh in early February

The United Kingdom has denied that Saudi Arabia is set to join a multinational initiative to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet, following a claim by Saudi defence minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman.

UAE state-owned defence conglomerate Edge Group dominated the contract awards at the latest running of the International Defence Exhibition (Idex) and Naval Defence Exhibition (Navdex) in Abu Dhabi in February.

The Kuwaiti authorities are reviving long-running plans to drastically reduce the number of foreign workers, despite signs that such a policy could harm Kuwait’s ability to develop a viable post-oil economy.

The Qatar Emiri Naval Forces (QENF) launched its coastal missile defence system at the Umm Al-Houl naval base late February. In September 2016, Qatar signed a deal with European defence group MBDA for a coastal defence system using the extended range version of the Marte missile and Exocet MM40 Block 3 missile.

Saudi Princess Lamia Bint Majed Bin Saud was reappointed as a goodwill ambassador to the Arab world for the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) late February, for a second term (she was first appointed in 2020).

Major General Pilot Sheikh Ahmed Bin Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan was named deputy chief of staff of the UAE Armed Forces. He previously served as National and Reserve Service Authority chairman, overseeing the launch of national service for UAE citizens in 2014.

Former Saudi deputy defence minister Prince Khalid Bin Sultan is being sued for at least £30m ($36m) by an Irish subsidiary of China Minsheng Bank over unpaid debts linked to a personal guarantee he had provided for a private Boeing 787 jet.

Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah left on another trip to receive medical treatment in Italy on 4 March – following four such journeys last year. He had returned from his previous trip in late December.

Fujairah Ruler Sheikh Hamad Bin Mohammed Al-Sharqi represented the UAE at the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Doha. Hamad Bin Mohammed, who has ruled Fujairah since 1974, also represented the UAE at the China-Middle East summit held in Riyadh in December.

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum announced the birth of his third son, Mohammed, in February. Hamdan’s wife Sheikha Sheikha Bint Saeed Bin Thani Al-Maktoum previously gave birth to twins in May 2021.

Oman's former minister responsible for defence affairs Sayyid Badr Bin Saud Bin Harib Al-Busaidi has died. Badr's influence over defence affairs was curtailed in 2020. 

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani criticised delays in sending aid to Syria, following the devastating earthquake which hit the country and neighbouring Turkey.

The late Shah’s son Reza Pahlavi believes opposition groups can unite to remove the Iranian ruling system in a constitutional coup, while the Mojahedin-e-Khalq remains committed to armed revolution. But, along with the reformists tolerated by the regime, none of these actors seem to have great traction on Iran’s streets, where Ayatollah Ali Khameini has most to fear from the combination of younger protestors and workers.

The Kuwaiti political scene is undergoing another of its periodic resets, with Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al-Sabah reappointed as prime minister, following the resignation of his government. He is expected to announce his new cabinet in the coming days, but few significant changes are expected in what will be his third government in eight months.