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President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan reshuffled the Abu Dhabi Executive Council (Adec) on 13 September, adding three new faces. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ) remains as chairman.

Foreign minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (ABZ) published a piece in Canada’s The Globe and Mail on 8 October, attempting to press home that (whatever politicians in Washington might say – see page 7) the UAE’s stand against extremism made it the perfect partner for Canada. ABZ visited Canada in July, travelling cross-country with Canadian foreign minister John Baird, and the two countries have been exploring closer ties. The UAE sees opportunity in Canada, including in shale gas, and recently opened a consulate in Toronto, in addition to its Ottawa embassy.

Kuwait's recently-appointed emir travelled to the UAE in early March, following on from trips to the other members of the Gulf Co-operation Council in the opening months of the year

Sheikh Saeed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan died on 27 July, five days after the UAE's Presidential Court said he had an unspecified "health problem". Funeral prayers were held at Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed the First Mosque in Al-Bateen. President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) announced three days of mourning for his half-brother.

Emirati foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan has been in Australia for talks.

Alpha Dhabi reported a 25% rise in profits in 2023, alongside a 14% increase in revenues, as the investment firm owned by UAE national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan’s International Holding Company announced multi-billion-dinar joint venture deals with Adnoc Drilling and Mubadala.

Two of Dubai’s larger real estate developers, Nakheel and Meydan, are being handed over to Dubai Holding, the investment group owned by the emirate’s Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum

Sheikh Shakbut was appointed a state minister in foreign affairs in early 2021 and is particularly focused on relations with African countries - which gives a commercial slant to his diplomatic role.

The leadership of Abu Dhabi’s two main wealth funds – the $790bn Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) and the $285bn Mubadala Investment Company – has been reshuffled, with national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan becoming chairman of Adia and Presidential Court minister Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan taking that role at Mubadala. Their brother UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) had previously been chairman of both funds.

Abu Dhabi hosted the 15th Special Olympics World Games from 14 to 21 March, the first time the event has been held in the Middle East. The UAE has made much of its efforts to integrate people with disabilities in recent times, particularly since adopting the term “people of determination” in 2017. Some 7,500 athletes from more than 190 countries competed at the games, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and including regional rivals such as Iran and Qatar.

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan, one of the lower-profile sons of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ), was due to list his company Ethmar International Holding on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) as GSN was going to press.

Khalid Bin Mohammed's star has been rising for some time, as his father has awarded him a string of senior jobs, but even as the 'Bani Fatima' further consolidate their power, President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed’s favoured son still had to overcome competition from powerful rivals to secure the position of the UAE's heir-apparent.

As his influence across the Middle East and North Africa becomes ever more apparent, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and UAE Armed Forces deputy supreme commander Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan is drawing ever more international attention, even though MBZ’s style of business tends towards the discreet. MBZ was the focus of a profile in The New York Times (NYT) on 2 June, where journalist David Kirkpatrick described him as arguably the Arab world’s most powerful ruler.

Influential UAE national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (TBZ) has seen his sprawling business interests expand further, with a new multi-billion dollar investment fund raised by Chimera Capital – part of the Royal Group which he chairs.