Search results

As well as apparently playing a part in arranging the release of Libyan Lockerbie bomber Abdelbasset Ali Mohammed Al-Megrahi, Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani held talks with visiting Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who also visited the UAE.

Qatar seems to have played a facilitating role in getting convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbasset Ali Mohammed Al-Megrahi back to Libya, just as it helped in getting the Bulgarian medics out of Colonel Qadhafi’s Jamahiriya (State of the Masses) in 2007.

Recent allegations in regional media – perhaps encouraged by senior officials in their host countries – of serious political shake-ups in the military establishment and ruling family – suggest all is not well in Qatar’s regional relations, even after a year when Doha has made serious efforts to mend fences with Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani (HBJ) travelled in late July to Morocco to visit Saudi Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdelaziz.

Keeping up with tradition, Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel has fallen out with the Palestinian Authority (PA), although it has resumed broadcasts in the West Bank after a PA ban was lifted.

Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani said Qatar would not allow anyone to damage relations between Tehran and Doha. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and his wife Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Misnad were in Paris in late June. Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani was insistent that Qatar does not interfere in the affairs of other countries.

Published in June 2009, this map provides an overview of global Islamic finance markets. Charts and graphics include Sharia-compliant financial assets by country (Dec 2007), Takaful operators by country (2008), Leading Islamic banks by asset values (Dec 2007), and Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) inter-regional trade

List detailing sukuk transactions in 2009

GSN lists some – but not by any means all – of the key players operating in the industry

Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani has been in the UAE, where he held talks in Al-Ain with federal President Sheikh Khalifa Al-Nahayan and federal Prime Minister and Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum

Rarely do GCC disputes get more public, and it will take more than warm words from Riyadh to win back the Al-Nahyan into the currency union fold. For Abu Dhabi, bank location is the deal-breaker

While the Middle East has weathered the global recession better than most regions, the regional dynamics have altered, with the more highly leveraged economies such as Dubai losing ground to more conservative and resource-rich players, led by Saudi Arabia.

Sheikh Fahd Bin Jassim: Car crash kills fast-rising minister,Emir Sheikh Hamad : Milford Haven, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Ahmed: Free trade hypocrisy

Aabar invests in European subsidiary of AIG, Mubadala posts Dh11.8bn loss for 2008, Brunei investment fund, German automotive industry attracts Qatar,

After eight months in the doldrums triggered by the global credit crisis, Middle East project finance has bounced back to life with the stunning commitment of $3bn from commercial banks to refinance the Dolphin pipeline. With liquidity still very tight, a boost was necessary to bring banks back into the international syndications market.

Emir Sheikh Hamad: Eyes Porsche, Jooan Bin Hamad: Rally success, Sheikha Hanadi: Dana Gas board