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Emirates Council for Balanced Development (ECBD) chairman Sheikh Theyab Bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan travelled to Ras Al-Khaimah in early February to talk to Ruler Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al-Qasimi about the council’s Emirates Villages project.

The visit by four vessels from the IRGC Navy and the regular Iranian Navy to a port in Sharjah in early February was the first of its kind and is part of a planned exchange of naval visits. It is part of Iran’s efforts to bolster its diplomatic relations with its neighbours and comes as a time when it is also strengthening its domestic defences against potential attacks.

The newly-appointed board of trustees at Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence includes several familiar faces – in yet another indication of how small the core group is that runs Abu Dhabi’s AI efforts.

Phoenix Group, which has a number of links to billionaire UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed’s business empire, has secured a 80MW power supply for a new crypto-mining site in Ethiopia, in the latest stage of an international push which has taken the Abu Dhabi-based cryptocurrency firm to Oman, Canada and the US –and which could soon lead it to South America.

The inauguration of the Rafale F4 from Dassault Aviation follows a $17bn defence deal struck in 2021 between the UAE and France.

Recent bilateral talks on border security, water resources and the 5m Afghans living in Iran point to a more positive atmosphere between the neighbours – prompting speculation that Tehran could soon recognise the Taliban government. It comes at a time when other Gulf states have been recalibrating their relations with the isolated regime.

Fly Persia, a Shiraz-based airline that operates two ageing Boeing 737 aircraft, has prevailed in a six-year-long trademark dispute with the far larger FlyDubai, after a Luxembourg court ruled their logos weren’t likely to be confused.

Eagle Hills has signed an MoU with Georgia’s government to develop mixed-use schemes in Tbilisi and the Black Sea resort of Batumi. Meanwhile, the prospects for its Grand Budapest project in Hungary have dimmed significantly.

A government-to-government deal between Doha and Jakarta has committed Sheikh Abdelaziz Bin Abdulrahman’s Qilaa International to building up to 1m affordable housing units in Indonesia – where Abu Dhabi has also been linked to a possible investment in President Subianto’s plans to build 3m homes a year.

The UAE artificial intelligence firm, which has close links to national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, is one of four equity partners who plan to invest sums in AI infrastructure in the US.

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.

Few doubt the UAE has successfully reinforced its position as a major global business and leisure hub by introducing ever more regulations and institutions to provide an accommodating investment climate. Abu Dhabi once left it to commercial hub Dubai to attract foreign attention, but the wealthy emirate is now more assertive on the business front, while also building up its military strength and regional power projection under President Mohammed Bin Zayed and his Bani Fatima brothers.

Adnoc Gas, now under new chief executive Fatima Al-Nuaimi, broke ground at Ruwais in November and has since awarded contracts for an LNG pre-conditioning plant, compression facilities and pipelines.

The Abu Dhabi authorities have added the 11 individuals and eight organisations to its Local Terrorist List, accusing them of involvement with the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

A Dubai businessman favoured by Donald Trump, Hussein Sajwani – profiled by GSN below – in early January said he would invest $20bn in a network of US data centres. His group has also signed a deal to enable $1bn of assets to be traded on a blockchain.