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Diplomat Sayyid Nizar Al-Julanda Majid Al-Said has been named as Oman’s new ambassador to Italy, replacing Ahmed Salim Mohammed Ba’Omar.

Bahrain's Prime Minister and Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa inaugurated the King Hamad American Mission Hospital (KHAMH) in Aali on 26 January, 120 years to the day since the first American Mission Hospital (AMH) was opened in Bahrain under the name Mason Memorial Hospital.

Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck visited Kuwait in January for what official Kuwaiti media described as a private visit but which the Bhutanese side called a royal visit. King Jigme Khesar previously visited Kuwait in February 2011. Bhutan has far more extensive links with Kuwait than with any other Gulf country.

UAE federal finance minister and Deputy Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and his wife Sheikha Maryam Bint Butti Al-Maktoum added a third daughter to their family on 25 January, with the birth of Sheikha.

A joint venture between Saudi Prince Sultan Bin Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz’s Arkal company and Spain’s Urbas Grupo Financiero (Urbas) is bidding for a government contract to construct homes in Riyadh.

Prince Sultan Bin Khalid Bin Faisal was appointed chief executive of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) early January. At the SIDF, which was set up in 1974, Sultan takes over from Ibrahim Al-Mojel, who had held the role since 2018.

UAE Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) chairman Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan inaugurated a marine research vessel in January.  The 50-metre Jaywun was built by Spain’s Freire Shipbuilding Company.

Bahraini Sheikha Muneera Bint Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa was appointed director-general of the Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa Academy for Diplomatic Studies (MBMA) in December.

Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah went back to Italy on 12 December, for what was officially termed a “private visit”. It comes just over seven weeks after the emir returned from his last trip to Italy for medical tests and was the fourth time he had travelled to the country in 2022.

UAE's Federal Vice President, Prime Minister and Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum received the winners of the seventh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Knowledge Award at his weekly majlis at Zabeel Palace in Dubai.

Ajman Crown Prince Sheikh Ammar Bin Humaid Al-Nuaimi attended the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 20 November. Sheikhs from Dubai and Umm Al-Quwain also attended the final race of the 2022 Formula 1 season, as did many Al-Nahyan members, led by President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed.  Earlier in November, Ammar Bin Humaid inaugurated a $19m liquid petroleum gas (LPG) facility, developed in Northern Sector Al-Jurf Industrial Area 3 by Ajman Gas Company.

Saudi Prince Waleed Bin Nasser Bin Fahd, from the ruling family’s Al-Faisal/Farhan branch, spoke about the development of the kingdom’s food sector at the early November Gulfood Manufacturing conference in Dubai.

Executive Council of Abu Dhabi member Theyab Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, one of the UAE president’s sons, inaugurated the second edition of the Abu Dhabi Moments initiative on 11 November, three years after the first running of the scheme.

Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa was in Fontainebleau, France, to watch his son and representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa compete in a horse-riding endurance race.

In his first years in power, Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq has had to establish his legitimacy and cope with fiscal pressures and the challenge of Covid-19, but with reforms bedding in and oil prices rising, the prospects for Oman look brighter than for some time. GSN analyses the trends since Sultan Qaboos’ death and profiles some of the key players in contemporary Oman.