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The merger of Saudi banks Samba Capital and National Commercial Bank (NCB) was formally completed on 11 July, with Samba rolled into NCB and the enlarged group adopting the new name of Saudi National Bank.

Shares in Al-Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) made a strong debut on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on 14 July, when its share price rose by 13% in early trading before settling back. Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company raised Dh2.7bn ($731m) in the initial public offering (IPO) of the satellite operator, making it the second largest listing on the bourse after Adnoc Distribution’s $851m IPO in 2017.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS)’s favoured vehicle for implementing economic change and promoting new-look Saudi values, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has proved a source of fascination for foreign analysts and consultants as it transitioned from a fusty state investor into the developer of ‘giga-projects’ and much more.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdelaziz (MBS) ordered SR3.74m ($997,000) to be handed out to nearly 200 men and women around the kingdom as a marriage subsidy.

Risk grade - B↓2↓ Overview Politics: Governed by the Al-Sabah family since the 18th century, Kuwait gained independence from Britain in 1961, with a constitution confirming the hereditary monarchy but giving significant powers to an independent judiciary and elected assembly.

On 22 July, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated a new oil pipeline running from Goreh in Bushehr province to a terminal at Jask in Hormozgan province, on the Gulf of Oman. The 1,000km, 42-inch link provides a strategically important new export outlet for Iranian crude.

Rahbar (Supreme Leader) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Rear Admiral Shahram Irani to command the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (Nejada), in succession to Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi. Unprecedented for such a senior armed forces command position, Irani is a Sunni.

Qatari ambassador to Afghanistan Saeed Mubarak Al-Khayarin played a significant personal role in the evacuation of Kabul, in an effort that prioritised journalists, activists and female students – and which received very positive coverage from the sort of media Doha likes to cultivate.

Ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Sultan Muhammad Al-Qasimi appointed Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Bin Sultan Al-Qasimi as deputy ruler of the emirate, in emiri decree No 25 of 2021, issued on 9 August.

Foreign minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan said on 27 August he had made phone calls to his Algerian and Moroccan counterparts, in the wake of heightened tensions between Algiers and Rabat, suggesting Saudi Arabia may be offering its good offices to mediate.

Ten Royal Saudi Land Force students completed a gruelling officer training programme at the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms School (Dvoku), in the far east of Russia, in July, along with peers from Russia and eight other countries, including Namibia, Angola and Kyrgyzstan.

Russia’s military co-operation in the Gulf fits in with a broader approach to the Middle East/North Africa (Mena) region, by which it has established firm links with a number of countries and tested its equipment in conflicts, including Syria and Libya.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and UAE Armed Forces deputy supreme commander Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan visited the UK on 14 September for a brief private visit (he has a son at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst) before heading on to Paris for a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron the following day.

Outgoing British ambassador to Oman Hamish Cowell has been holding farewell meetings with officials in Muscat; he was received by foreign minister Sayyid Badr Hamad Al-Busaidi on 6 September, ahead of his replacement by Bill Murray, who was named in July as the incoming envoy.

Israel has named its chargé d’affaires to the UAE Eitan Naeh as its first ambassador to Bahrain. Naeh has previously served as ambassador to Turkey and was named as the temporary head of mission to Abu Dhabi in January.