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Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani was the first head of state to visit post-Assad Damascus, when the Qatari leader flew into the Syrian capital on 30 January, after which President Ahmed Al-Sharaa chose Riyadh for his first overseas trip. Meanwhile Iranian military commanders have emerged from licking their wounds after the Assad regime’s defeat to claim they are now rebuilding resistance cells in their former client state.

The Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) has been opening more investigations and making more arrests. With its powers strengthened by a new law in November, the Saudi graft-buster could ramp up its activities further.

Thamer Al-Muhid takes over as Saudi Arabian Military Industries Company’s third permanent chief executive, after a five-month search.

A 40-bedroom Regent’s Park property was put up for sale in 2023 for £250m, after being repossessed when Khalid Bin Sultan defaulted on a £160m loan. It has now been sold for £139m to an unnamed buyer.

Zain has been chasing a debt now standing at $877m against Prince Hussam Bin Saud Bin Abdelaziz since 2015, but the Kuwaiti telecoms company’s bankruptcy petition against the Al-Baha governor has been ruled out by London’s Chief Insolvency and Companies Court, which said it had now jurisdiction over the case.

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund has signed a one-off deal with FGS Global, whose other clients include the UAE Embassy in Washington DC.

Late King Fahd’s son Prince Mohammed had some of the most wide-ranging and controversial business interests of any Al-Saud, starting in the oil boom days of the 1970s.

Italian export credit agency Sace is proving its largest ever finance facility to support Saudi megaproject Neom’s use of Italian supplier.

A string of marriages and engagements involving Al-Saud family members were announced in late 2024 and early 2025.

Prince Abdelaziz Bin Mishaal had a wide-ranging business career, managing family assets held in Al-Shoula Group among a portfolio of interests.

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Mishaal and Qatar Foundation chief executive Sheikha Hind met the British monarch at the headquarters of his King’s Foundation charity in January – continuing Charles’ long, but not always easy, relationship with Gulf charities.

The Gulf’s younger rulers have become more experienced in managing their polities and more pragmatic in delivering big ambitions, as they balance domestic and international relationships and interests. To better understand their actions in 2025 and beyond, GSN takes a deeper dive into the ruling philosophies of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia have most active in trying to develop ties with the new Syrian leadership, with a flurry of meetings, aid and technical assistance, accompanied by wariness of the potential for further instability in the brave new world after Bashar Al-Assad.

SBI Holdings has signed a series of deals with Saudi companies, including Prince Fahd’s Evision and PIF’s Savvy Games, as the Japanese investor steadily steps up its engagement with the kingdom.

Mishaal Bin Sultan has been reappointed chairman of online food delivery service Jahez International.