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Supporters of Khater Massad said the controversial Lebanese-Swiss businessman was detained in Jeddah on 20 September, based on an arrest warrant issued in Ras Al-Khaimah, which claims he embezzled public funds. Massad (also spelt Massaad) strongly denies the allegations.

There appears to be confusion between Baghdad and Erbil over the status of ExxonMobil’s contract with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG)(GSN 915/14, 913/9). On 16 March, Reuters ran a story quoting Iraqi oil minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi as saying: “We received a letter from Exxon on 5 March saying they are freezing the contract with the Kurds.”

Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal has undergone surgery to remove an intestinal obstruction, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. Photographs were released on 20 August of King Abdullah, accompanied by Crown Prince Salman, visiting Prince Saud at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah.

MBR: Back in the saddle

Dubai’s decision on 30 March to seek a one-year delay of the Expo 2020 fair, which had been due to start on 20 October, represents a psychological body blow to the commercial hub’s economy. Even before the coronavirus pandemic had begun, the Dubai economy was in poor shape, with real estate prices in decline since 2015 and wider levels of activity muted. The sharp fall in oil prices was threatening to make the downturn even worse; even though Dubai has only limited oil and gas reserves, its economy relies to some extent on the recycling of oil-derived wealth from its neighbours.

The proliferation of national security organisations is a key challenge for the Iraqi state. Much attention has been paid to the Shia Hashd Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Units or PMUs) militias, who the government considers to be part of the national security architecture. Western advisors tend to support this analysis and understand the PMUs cannot simply be wished away.

King Salman has returned Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdelaziz Bin Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance; Sheikh Saleh had previously been in the job since 1999, but was removed by the late King Abdullah in December, as the latter swept the decks of those who had sat too long on the Council of Ministers.The reinstatement of a member of the Al Al-Sheikh, the family descended from Muhammad Ibn Abd Al-Wahhab which has traditionally controlled the religious and judicial establishments, is significant.

Recent data from the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund shows that Arab stock markets lost some $158bn in September, with the GCC’s bourses taking the brunt of the loss. A new Standard & Poor’s (S&P) report argues that the tightening in liquidity conditions in the UAE is only tangentially related to the global credit crunch and is being driven mainly by a host of country-specific factors.

Following a period of tensions between Oman and the UAE, senior Emirati officials including deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan were prominent in offering their condolences to heritage and culture minister Sayyid Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said, Sultan Qaboos’ advisor Sayyid Shihab Bin Tariq Al- Said and other family members on the death in mid-June of their mother Sayyida Shawanna Bint Hamoud Al-Busaidiyah.

Foreign affairs minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani held talks with King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in separate meetings in Madrid on 13 September. Following the meeting with Sanchez, the two men signed a joint declaration to co-operate in international investment projects, with a particular emphasis on Latin America.

With Saudi Arabia on the verge of sealing the Riyadh Agreement deal with southern secessionists, further destabilisation in the wake of the UAE’s withdrawal of forces from southern Yemen may be averted. Saudi-led coalition forces have already been redeployed to Aden, but the on-the-ground situation remains fluid and ripe for other actors to intensify their role. Some observers believe Qatar is likely to expand its presence in regions it knows well.

The much anticipated ‘universal museum’, Louvre Abu Dhabi, is scheduled to open during a two-day visit to the UAE by French President Emmanuel Macron. The opening is scheduled during the Ninth Abu Dhabi Art Fair (Abu Dhabi Art), which starts on Manarat Al-Saadiyat on 8 November. Culture and knowledge development minister Noura Al-Kaabi has confirmed that Macron will open the Louvre Abu Dhabi on 8 November; other VIP tours are scheduled for 9-10 November before it opens to the public on 11 November.

Following a period when analysts have detected deterioarting relations with Washington, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al-Said talked to President Donald Trump on 18 July. During the call Trump reportedly asked for Oman’s help in ‘countering Iran’s destabilising activities in the region’. The call came after minister responsible for foreign affairs Ousuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah had met President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran. Abu Dhabi’s The National quoted sources saying Trump also wanted Oman to play a bigger role in mediating the dispute between the GCC-3 and Qatar.

MIQRIN BIN ABDELAZIZ: Pakistan venture; PRINCE ABDULLAH: Equestrian hopes dashed; PRINCE SAUD: Turkmenistan trip; PRINCESS FAWZIA: Death; AL-SAUD: Al-Shayk wedding in Riyadh; SENIOR AL-SAUDS: Various vacations

A 13 June cabinet meeting, chaired by King Salman, finally approved the Undeveloped Land Fees Regulation, a tax on undeveloped urban land, popularly known as ‘white land’. The 2.5% tax on the value of undeveloped land designated for residential or commercial use will be applied in stages to owners of plots bigger than 5,000m2. The Ministry of Housing will collect the levy and fine owners who don’t pay the tax. The long-awaited tax, intended to ease the severe shortage of housing by encouraging landowners to develop their assets, has been expected for some weeks.