Search results

Qatar is politically stable – perhaps more so because of the 2017-21 regional boycott by its GCC-3 neighbours Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Efforts during the blockade to endorse pretenders to the throne saw obscure Al-Thani family members being promoted by Doha's opponents, but these came to nothing. Rather, that period of crisis boosted Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani's status.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani has entered into his second decade as ruler in a strong position, having dealt with the regional blockade, the Covid pandemic and the Fifa World Cup. This leaves Qatar now in search of a new direction: while positioning itself as a regional mediator provides a focus for its multi-polar foreign policy, Doha has yet to identify a new national purpose on the domestic stage. 

Sheikh Zayed Bin Khalifa Bin Sultan Bin Shakhboot Al-Nahyan was sworn in as the UAE's ambassador to Qatar. He is a great-grandson of former ruler Shakbout Bin Sultan, and is married to a daughter of Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, a son of the late President Sheikh Khalifa.

Qatari Sheikh Al-Qaqa Bin Hamad Al-Thani – Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani’s youngest half-brother – was elected president of Al-Rayyan Sports Club.

A decade in power: Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani marked his tenth anniversary as ruler on 25 June. He took over aged 33, after his father (now ‘father emir’) Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani chose to step down voluntarily – if under international pressure over his foreign policy – telling Qataris it was time for a new generation to take over.

Saudi Arabia signed a deal to buy the Akinci combat drone from Turkey’s Baykar Technology, during a visit to the kingdom by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Bayraktar called it the largest defence and aviation export contract in Turkish history.

The United States has stepped up its military presence in the region, with additional aircraft, naval vessels and personnel being deployed to the Gulf. This has led analysts to suggest that Washington was preparing to deal with a wider range of threats, perhaps in anticipation of a formal collapse in negotiations with Iran to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal.

There has been widespread anger in the Gulf and the wider region after copies of the Koran were publicly burned in Sweden and Denmark. Scandinavian authorities have so far said they cannot prevent such episodes as they would be counter to freedom of speech (although they could constitute a hate crime).

Sheikh Nasser Bin Abdulrahman Bin Nasser Al-Thani's real estate company Daruna for Real Estate Brokerage Company has been granted permission by the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Civil and Commercial Court to seek higher damages from Lesha Bank (previously known as Qatar First Bank) in a dispute over a failed plan to build workers’ accommodation north of Doha.

Sultan Salmeen Saeed Al-Mansouri was named as Qatar's new ambassador to the UAE, in a decision by Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani.

The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) is to resume negotiations with Japan on a free trade agreement (FTA) after a break of 14 years, following talks between GCC secretary-general Mohammed Al-Budaiwi and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in Jeddah.

Commerce spoke louder than diplomacy when the state-owned QatarEnergy announced a ten-year deal to supply condensate to the Dubai government-owned Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc). It represents the first major commercial deal since the two Gulf Co-operation Council partners (or mainly, in recent years, rivals) agreed in June to reopen their respective embassies.

Qatar Airways reported in July its highest-ever revenues, confirming the Fifa World Cup’s impact in November and December. However, while the group's revenues were up 45% year-on-year to QR76.3bn ($21bn), net profits were down 21% at QR4.4bn.

The United States Department of Justice has accused dual US/Israeli citizen Gal Luft of trying to broker the sale of Iranian crude oil to China and the sale of Chinese-manufactured weapons to Gulf countries, in contravention of US law.

Gulf Co-operation Council foreign ministers were in Moscow on 10 July for the sixth round of the Russia-GCC strategic dialogue – the first time the meeting had been held in Russia since 2016. Moscow appeared keen to ensure the Ukraine war did not dominate the talks.