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Minister responsible for foreign affairs Yousef Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah signed a memorandum of co-operation with the European Union high representative for foreign affairs and security policy Federica Mogherini in Brussels on 20 September. The new deal will provide the basis for enhanced political dialogue and strengthened co-operation, according to a statement issued by Mogherini. Those “issues of mutual interest” include the Qatar crisis, relations with Iran and efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Yemen war.

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.

Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said has continued to issue decrees at a steady pace, as he settles into his role. On 7 April, he issued five more decrees, including commitments for Oman to join a number of international human rights conventions, although in all cases Oman has said it is opposed to some of the provisions in them. The conventions include the 2006 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, although Muscat does not accept the provisions for visits by a committee on enforced disappearances or international arbitration between countries.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and UAE Armed Forces deputy supreme commander Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) visited Germany on 11 June for a two-day visit, three years after he was last in Berlin. MBZ met President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Schloss Bellevue on the day of his arrival and Chancellor Angela Merkel the following day. It is 15 years since the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement, since when the value of bilateral trade has risen from $3bn to $14bn.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised British-Iranian dual nationals to avoid all travel to Iran, following a series of cases in which the Iranian authorities have targeted both dual nationals and Iranians working for UK institutions. The most high-profile case is that of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been held in custody since 2016, following a conviction for spying. “Dual nationals face an intolerable risk of mistreatment if they visit Iran,” said foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt in a statement issued on 17 May.

Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani appointed Sheikh Ali Bin Jassim Bin Thani Al-Thani as ambassador to France on 12 September.

The Thai government has received unwelcome publicity – and has been drawn into the internal politics of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia – in two separate incidents which have been highlighted by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other international advocacy groups. In late November, Hakeem Al-Araibi, a footballer who has refugee status in Australia, was arrested on an Interpol notice issued by Bahrain while holidaying in Thailand with his wife.

Oman News Agency posted a series of comments in late April and early May from Gulf Co-operation Council ambassadors to Muscat, praising relations between their countries and Oman. At times these dispatches have shed some indirect light on longstanding issues. On 26 April, Kuwaiti ambassador Salman Al-Harbi described relations as “deep-rooted and exemplary”. A few days later, Saudi ambassador Eid Bin Mohammed Al-Thaqafi said Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said and King Salman Bin Abdelaziz had a “constructive and distinguished” relationship.

Albania expelled two Iranian diplomats on 15 January, little more than a year after it had thrown out two other envoys. The Tirana government claimed the latest expulsions, of Mohammad Ali Arz Peimanemati and Seyed Ahmad Hosseini Alast, was due to their “conducting activities incompatible with their status”. In a recent diplomatic list issued by Albania’s Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Peimanemati was listed as third counsellor and Alast was cultural counsellor.

Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa inaugurated Bahrain’s new embassy in Rome on 3 February, during an official visit to the Italian capital. Until now, Bahrain has provided diplomatic coverage in Italy from its embassy in Paris, where Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar is ambassador. On the same day, Prince Salman held talks with head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace and with Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Doha and Tehran are to hold a Joint Economic Commission meeting in Iran in May, in the latest sign of strengthening ties between the two countries. Iranian energy minister Reza Ardakanian confirmed the plans on 12 January, saying the talks would be held ahead of an agricultural investment exhibition. Tourism is likely to be a focus, with Iran keen to tap into Qatari investment.

There were fewer Gulf statesmen giving speeches at this year’s Munich Security Conference than in some recent years – the main participants from the region to appear on stage were Qatar’s foreign affair minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Iran’s foreign affairs minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. However, there were others from the region milling about – including Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and Oman’s minister responsible for foreign affairs Yusuf Bin Alawi – and plenty of wider discussion about Gulf matters, particularly Iran.

The fallout from journalist-in-exile Jamal Khashoggi’s murder is forcing governments to reassess other facets of Saudi action on the international stage, including last summer’s sustained diplomatic attack on Canada, which was portrayed as an over-wrought response to official tweets criticising the human rights situation in the kingdom.

Health minister Dr Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Saeedi has been elected to the World Health Organisation’s executive board for a three-year term. The 34-member board meets twice a year. Its main roles are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the WHO’s annual Health Assembly, to advise and facilitate its work. Also on the board is UAE health minister Abdulrahman Al-Owais, who was elected last year.

UAE minister of state and special envoy to Germany Dr Sultan Al-Jaber held back-to-back online meetings with German diplomats and politicians on 30 May, including with his counterpart Niels Annen. Billed as a “virtual visit”, it drew praise from German Federal Foreign Office director for the Middle East and North Africa Christian Buck who described Jaber as “taking virtual diplomacy to a whole new level”.