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King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa made an 11-13 October visit to Russia, where he met President Vladimir Putin and attended the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Sochi. The Kremlin said talks would focus on developing co-operation in trade and investment, energy, finance and humanitarian ties, and that the leaders would also be discussing the situation in the Middle East and North Africa. After the meeting on 12 October in the presidential palace in Sochi, Putin said the two countries would mark 25 years of diplomatic relations in 2015, and that he welcomed “regular and ongoing contacts”.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) received a delegation of American evangelical Christians on 29 October.

Qatar meeting; To Geneva; Oman, The Hague; Belgium meetings; Funeral; Funeral; Not a rebel

Nawwaf Bin Abdelaziz: Term extended, Turki Al-Faisal: Gaza comments, Princes: Marriages, Princess Al-Jauhara: Death, Al Sudairi: Death

The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) has banned Federal Premier and Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) from riding in endurance races for six months after his horse twice failed doping tests

Heir apparent Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, together with state minister for internal affairs Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, opened the 9th internal state security exhibition Milipol on 8 October

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah attended the hastily arranged opening ceremony of the 23rd Gulf Cup in Kuwait City on 21 December. The tournament – which is contested by the eight members of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (the six Gulf Co-operation Council states plus Iraq and Yemen) – was originally scheduled to be held in Kuwait but was relocated to Qatar as a result of the international ban imposed on the Kuwait Football Association by the sport’s world governing body FIFA in October 2015.

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) on 21 July had a meeting with the pro-Russian head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov. Following their talks, Kadyrov said King Salman would travel to Russia before the end of the year and that MBS planned to send three delegations to Russia’s North Caucasus republic (which includes Chechnya). On 18 July, MBS was in Najran to inspect armed forces units and congratulate them on the occasion of Eid. While in the south, MBS inspected a rapid intervention unit and artillery units and visited the King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushayt, Asir province, to see the 55th Aviation Squadron stationed there.

Saad Al-Hariri returned to Riyadh for talks with the senior Saudi leadership in late February, less than four months after the Lebanese prime minister’s last controversial visit when he was forced to resign apparently at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS). That resignation was hastily withdrawn when Hariri returned to Beirut in what amounted to an embarrassing example of the limits of Saudi diplomatic power in the region.

Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad visited Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India on 23-25 March, beginning his tour in Islamabad. He held official talks with President Mamnoon Hussein and with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and witnessed the signing of a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs), including in the fields of culture, youth and sports, education, information and scientific research. Tamim also met the speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, and the army chief of general staff General Rashad Mahmood, before flying to Sri Lanka for a one-day visit on 24 March.

GSN’s long-serving editor and (from 1985 to 2000) proprietor, John Christie, was a man of action, and veteran of government and private sector operations across the Middle East and North Africa. A fluent and colloquial Arabist – Saudi King Faisal Bin Abdelaziz once summoned him to be flown up to Riyadh from Jeddah by saying ‘Send me the Syrian’ (a reference to John’s north Syrian accent) – he was known as the “sage” in many circles. John sold the title in 2000, before his death on 16 June 2001 after a long illness.

Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah arrived in India on 7 November for a visit, the first by a Kuwaiti premier for several years. His delegation included foreign minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and oil minister Mustafa Al-Shamali. He met Indian premier Manmohan Singh and discussed issues including energy, investment and labour laws. Singh told a news conference that he had asked Sheikh Jaber “for the continued support of the Kuwaiti leadership to ensure that the full protection of Kuwaiti laws and labour welfare measures is available to them [Indian workers in Kuwait]”.

King Abdullah: Pakistani talks, CP Sultan: Return to Kingdom, Salman Bin Abdelaziz and sons: Meetings, Turki Al-Faisal: Speaking out in the States, Nayef Bin Abdelaziz: Iraq defence fence, Nayef Bin Abdelaziz: Pakistan hunting land, Mohammed Bin Yousef Al-Saud: Marriage

President Sheikh Khalifa returned to the UAE on 10 September, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM), concluding a “private visit outside the UAE”. He had been out of the country since 1 July (GSN 1,040/7).

The king’s first meeting with another head of state in the New Year came on 3 January when he held talks with President Nicos Anastasiades in Riyadh. The two leaders witnessed the signing of a number of agreements, including a pact to avoid double taxation, an executive agreement on transport and a memorandum of understanding on political consultations.