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The credit shadows that have fallen over the Middle East in 2009 are afflicting some of the official export credit agencies (ECAs) based in the region and further afield. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have moved to the centre of ECA scanners in the past couple of months, but it is the UAE that most preoccupies official insurers, GSN was told in a survey of regional and international market sentiment.

Timothy Geithner’s first visit to Saudi Arabia and the UAE since becoming US Treasury Secretary highlighted again the important role Gulf Co-operation Council governments play in the global economy, and the fact that the strategic alliances between the United States and GCC polities have been central to maintaining the regional status quo. Not only are all the GCC economies, except for Kuwait, pegged to the dollar, but they are also the largest foreign investors in US stocks.

Backed by one of the world’s wealthiest governments, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company is already a major player in ten countries in the GCC, Europe, North America and Africa. Iraq will soon become its next play, chief executive Peter Barker-Homek told GSN

Dealing with a growing number of returned prisoners from Guantanamo Bay is burdening an already complex process of putting terror suspects on trial, testing relationships between states and exacerbating sectarian rifts

King Abdullah’s first four years on the throne have been marked by substantial change in education, media and social policy. New structures have made it harder for conservatives to block curriculum reforms, and the first steps towards improving the position of women have been taken with Saudi Arabia’s participation in the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) review process (GSN 823/5, 822/8).

Senior Saudi princes were seen lining up to praise King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz during recent celebrations of the fourth anniversary of the pledge of allegiance (bayaa) to the new monarch. Several of the most senior princes wrote special speeches, with observers pointing to a strict protocol and hierarchy in how they were reported.

The King is overseeing a programme of cautious change, but is reluctant to ease the family hold on real power or alienate powerful religious interests. It takes fine political judgment to bolster the position of his Shammar branch of the family without provoking a rift with the Sudeiris and other powerful factions

Securocrat’s nervousness at a deteriorating regional security situation was highlighted by reports that Saudi Arabia may place an order for extra Typhoon warplanes from BAE Systems. Saudi Arabia is anyway looking to develop its defence industry.

Securocrat's nervousness at a deteriorating regional security situation was highlighted by reports that Saudi Arabia may place an order for extra Typhoon warplanes from BAE Systems. Saudi Arabia is anyway looking to develop

Iran’s post-election crackdown has deepened GCC concerns about regional security. But that does not mean the Saudis would tacitly grant Israel airspace to mount a strike against the Natanz nuclear plant.

As Riyadh’s new envoy Abdullah Al-Eifa prepares to take up his post in Damascus, President Bashar Al-Assad is enjoying the diplomatic payback for a sustained period of good behaviour over the past two years. The timing of the return of both the US and Saudi ambassadors, after four- and one-year hiatuses respectively, is no coincidence – foreign partners are once more seriously courting Syria. Riyadh and Damascus have decided to close a troubled chapter in Syria’s relations with the wider Arab world after Assad’s regime demonstrated good faith in its conduct during the Lebanese parliamentary elections of 7 June, which saw its proxies lose to the Saudi/US-backed 14 March coalition led by Saad Hariri.

In a partial success for German and French diplomacy, this €2bn electronic security contract award is primarily a technological security decision for a project long coveted by Paris.

Expat Sudeiri meets King Abdullah; Backing the Mutawa; Promotion by royal order; Diplomatic opening in Syria; High-profile marriages; Turkish holiday; Recovering from surgery; Critical comments; Shopping embarrassment; Criticises brother Alwaleed; Turkey meeting; Red Sea initiative

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

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