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Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah tested positive for Covid-19, according to a 27 January Ministry of Defence (MoD) statement. The defence minister is now isolating at home in line with official guidelines but was said to be continuing to undertake official duties remotely.

Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah left for Germany on 20 January on what was termed a private visit – the terminology usually deployed when he travels for medical treatment.

King Salman Bin Abdelaziz chaired a cabinet meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on 25 January – his first known trip to the capital since July 2020, when he had received treatment at King Faisal Specialist Hospital for an inflamed gallbladder.

Kuwait’s political problems have caught up once more with its economic profile as Fitch Ratings downgraded long-term foreign currency issuer default rating.

GSN’s B2 risk grade for Kuwait remains unchanged although the outlook is negative for both political and economic/ financial risk in this latest Risk Management Report. Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah made nine new cabinent appointments at the end of 2021, reducing ruling family participation and introducing opposition MPs to improve relations with parliamentary critics. The government continues to be dogged by governance concerns over questions such as expenditure on Eurofighter jets and alleged corruption at the Army Fund

Political rapprochement between GCC rivals, along with rich pickings from high oil prices and a successful coronavirus vaccine rollout meant the past year has been a relatively benign one for those outside the region’s conflict zones, according to GSN’s annual survey of developments across the region. In this special issue, we present refreshed Risk Management Reports for each of the nine countries in the region (as well as the Kurdistan region and individual UAE emirates) and some big picture analysis to complement GSN’s usual detailed focus on the minutiae of political and business life.

As yet another government gears up to address the emirate’s pressing economic and political problems, GSN profiles the members of Kuwait’s new cabinet. including nine newcomers and three portfolio changes

Opposition members of the National Assembly (parliament) have wasted little time in expressing criticism of the newly-formed cabinet of Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, with 13 of them staging a walk-out in early January in protest

The National Assembly returned on 4 January with tensions between the government and opposition members of parliament (MPs) soon emerging. After the new cabinet took the constitutional oath, 13 MPs walked out in protest and there was an immediate request for a grilling

After nearly a year of post-Qatar boycott rapprochement, Gulf Co-operation Council leaders stressed their unity at the 42nd GCC summit in Riyadh. The 14 December summit was marked by Saudi Arabia’s efforts to put more focus on the perceived threats from Iran.

Several leaders sent deputies to the 42nd Gulf Co-operation Council summit in Riyadh in mid-December, which nevertheless made progress in reuniting the regional bloc after several years of division. Poor health prevented some heads of state from attending but this was not the only reason.

Even while speculation accelerates over the senior leadership, the repercussions from the recent amnesties given to exiled opposition leaders continue to dominate political life in Kuwait In early November, Emir Sheikh Nawaf issued two decrees in accordance with Article 75 of the Constitution, granting immediate pardons and commuting sentences for 35 dissidents.

The Court of Ministers lifted a travel ban on former prime minister Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah on 16 November, allowing him to travel to Germany for medical treatment. Sheikh Jaber had been on bail for less than two weeks and was awaiting sentencing in his role in the Army Fund case.

The transfer of powers to Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal on 16 November was described by officials as a temporary move, but few expect Emir Sheikh Nawaf to return fully to front line duty, given his poor health. The Al-Sabahs will seek to maintain business as usual, as Mishaal’s reappointment of Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah suggests little appetite for change at the cabinet level, despite the amnesty for exiled opposition leaders.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office released files on 23 November giving more detail on events surrounding British Airways flight BA149, which was caught in the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait when it landed at Kuwait City of 2 August 1990.