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Abu Dhabi’s perceived support for General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti)’s RSF rebels led the under-pressure Burhan regime to order 15 UAE embassy staff to leave Khartoum in December. This posed further questions about the Gulf state’s role in the Sudanese civil war, while the RSF has made further strategic gains and is looking for broader regional support.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s favoured Public Investment Fund has been among the most prominent clients of US lobbying and legal firms over the past year, as Saudi Arabia seeks to strengthen its relations with Washington and support its subsidiaries’ investments in the American market.

The Saudi offer of long-term tax incentive comes just before new rules are introduced in January stipulating that international companies must base their regional headquarters in the kingdom if they want to compete for government contracts. Saudi Arabia has made the most high-profile recent moves to attract foreign investment, but even the more conservative Kuwait and ‘revolutionary’ Iran are easing terms for incomers.

Tehran has released Spanish football fan Santiago Sanchez after 15 months in custody, but at least ten other Europeans are thought to be held in Iran, including Swedish national Johan Floderus. Critics accuse Tehran of using them as leverage to secure the release of Iranian officials convicted in Europe.

Oman’s Crown Prince Theyazin Bin Haitham had words of praise for President Vladimir Putin and one of Russia’s most senior bankers, Andrei Kostin, while in Moscow to attend an investment forum in early December. The visit to Russia, followed by a trip to Abu Dhabi a few days later to meet UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, suggests the Omani crown prince may be seeking to build up his international profile.

Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said has returned from back-to-back state visits to Asian powerhouses Singapore and India, in which boosting business was very high on the agenda.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unexpected visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia on 6 December – a rare foreign excursion for a leader who has tended to stay close to home since launching the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Notably, neither Gulf country is a signatory to the International Criminal Court, which in March issued an arrest warrant for Putin over Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

A showcase mega-event has its downsides, even while the climate  talks place the UAE at the centre of the global stage.

While Qatar has not signed up to the Abraham Accords to normalise ties with Israel, it has developed a viable working relationship with the Israeli government over recent years, particularly in regard to funding and other aid to Hamas-run Gaza.

The organisational structure of Hamas is clouded in secrecy, but the current war – and negotiations to bring it to an end – mean it is now critical for Israel and other parties to understand how the group operates and makes its decisions.

Plans to build the 'Friendship Bridge' between Bahrain and Qatar have been revived, during a visit by Qatari foreign affairs minister and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al-Thani to Manama in November.

The work schedule is unrelenting for Qatari Prime Minister and foreign affairs minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al-Thani, who flew into Manama for talks with Bahraini Prime Minister and Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa on 17 November – to cement bilateral ties as well as discuss the situation in Gaza. 

In a major coup for Qatar, Doha has been credited with brokering a four-day truce in Gaza, which was due to come into effect as GSN was going to press, in a deal where Hamas would start freeing its 7 October hostages while Israel releases Palestinian prisoners from its jails. There is still a huge amount of work to do by international partners if a wider peace settlement is to be achieved, but what is clear is that Qatari actors have emerged as international players after years of effort to position Doha as a deal-broker that can be all things to all men.

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron made a surprise return to the British government when he was appointed foreign secretary. During his time as premier, from 2010 to 2016, he did much to expand relations with the Gulf states.

Omani officials appear confident that, despite international diplomatic attention having largely switched to the Gaza conflict, a peace settlement can be achieved soon between the warring factions in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, with all parties now appearing to recognise that ending the civil war is in their overwhelming political interest.