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Qatar and the UAE have thrown their weight behind plans to develop a trade route linking Europe and the Gulf via Iraq – a move which suggests Abu Dhabi may be looking more seriously at potential alternatives to the India-Europe trade corridor running through Israel, which it had backed prior to the Gaza war.

Lana Nusseibeh has stepped down as the UAE’s permanent representative to the Untied Nations, after more than a decade in New York, notably while the UAE filled a seat on the Security Council in 2022/23.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al-Maktoum’s private office Alpha MBM Investments has aligned with Abu Dhabi-based Venom Blockchain to develop central bank digital currencies and stablecoins in Uganda, Somalia and Central African Republic, as the ambitious junior member of Dubai’s ruling family and interests in Abu Dhabi move further into African business.

Distantly related to Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, Sheikh Ali announced plans to set up a $500m family office in the Chinese territory in March, but that now appears to have been pushed back until late May. 

Output at the three-field Belbazem block is due to ramp up to 45,000 b/d, helping Abu Dhabi National Oil Company on its wat to reaching its target of 5m b/d production capacity by 2027.

Dubai’s transport sector was badly affected as more than one year’s worth of rain fell in a day across the UAE, leaving a clean-up operation that is likely to be expensive, although the authorities are trying to shield locals from much of the initial cost.

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ is buying a 49% stake in Alpha Dhabi Construction Holding, following a major real estate deal involving ADQ and IHC, another part of national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed’s business empire.

The G42 artificial intelligence company chaired by UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has raised funds from the US tech giant in return for an unspecified shareholding and a seat on the board.

Former military officer Sheikh Zayed Bin Hamdan, who suffered serious injuries in a helicopter crash in Yemen in 2017, has become an influential official with a role in some of the most sensitive media and AI dossiers backed by his Bani Fatima uncles.

A fund owned by Abu Dhabi conglomerate Chimera Investments’ Lunate has acquired a 40% stake in Adnoc Oil Pipelines from private equity giants BlackRock and KKR, in a move to take overwhelming control of a strategic local asset.

UAE national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (TBZ) controls a $1trn-plus investment empire that, mixing private and public funds, is in full expansion mode. Although now widely commented on, the structure of Tahnoun’s business empire and the identities of those individuals who work most closely with TBZ often remain opaque, as is the nature of financial links with his powerful Bani Fatima brothers.

The Saudi government is reportedly scaling back its ambitions for some vastly expensive megaprojects, such as The Line linear city in Neom, in a sign that Riyadh is still struggling to attract the amount of foreign direct investment needed to underpin Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s long-term economic reform agenda, while the UAE leads rivals in drawing in FDI.

The opening of another field hospital in Chad and talk of a ‘foreign legion’ project have led to renewed focus on the UAE’s involvement in the Sudan conflict and Abu Dhabi’s efforts to extend its influence in Africa and other parts of President Mohammed Bin Zayed’s ‘near abroad’

First among equals in the UAE – as well as a major player in an expanding ‘near abroad’ – President Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) and his Bani Fatima brothers dominate national politics and business. MBZ and his siblings are among the first in a major series of profiles of Abu Dhabi’s Al-Nahyan family.

More than 1,500 prisoners were pardoned by King Hamad Bin Isa All-Khalifa on 8 April to mark Eid Al-Fitr, a majority of whom appear to be political prisoners.