Search results

The 14th running of the annual Manama Dialogue – organised by London-based think tank the International Institute for Security Studies (IISS) – provided a rare opportunity for Bahrain to host a significant number of senior political figures.

Omani acting undersecretary for diplomatic affairs Mohammed Bin Awadh Al-Hassan led a delegation to Tehran on 22 October to take part in the sixth session of the Iran-Oman strategic consultation committee. The following day he held talks with foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. There were no major new developments or agreements, but the meetings highlighted Oman’s continued willingness to talk to all sides in the region, even under pressure from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and as fresh sanctions are due to be imposed on Iran by the United States.

Issa Abdullah Al-Nuaimi has been appointed as the UAE’s first resident ambassador to Georgia, presenting his credentials to President Girogi Margvelashvili in mid-September. His appointment comes after a period of some difficulty between the two countries.

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.

Germany extradited Iranian diplomat Asadollah Assadi to Belgium on 9 October, to face questioning about an alleged Iranian plot to bomb a rally by opposition group the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) near Paris on 30 June. NCRI is deemed a terrorist organisation by Tehran and is closely linked to the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) dissident group led by Maryam Rajavi, which advocates the violent overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

Qatar provided the venue for rare talks between Afghanistan’s Taliban and the United States on 12 October – a return to the sort of diplomatic facilitation that Doha used to be well known for.

Frenchman Alain Goma was released by his Houthi captors on 16 October and flown to Oman – the latest in a string of hostages who have been handed over to Muscat during the course of the Yemen war. Goma was captured on 8 July while sailing near the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida, the current focus of Saudi-led coalition action.

West Azerbaijan governor-general Mohammad Mehdi Shahriari has said Tehran and Ankara have agreed to open two further border crossings in a bid to expand bilateral trade flows. An agreement was reached during a recent visit by interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli to Turkey.

Senior Lebanese politicians rallied together on mid-September in a bid to prevent a diplomatic incident developing with Kuwait. There had been loud protests in Kuwait over comments made by Salem Zahran on 14 September on Al-Manar Television, the Lebanese station close to Hezbollah, in which Zahran claimed that during the emir’s recent visit to Washington he had been forced to cancel billions of dollars of contracts with Chinese firms and sign new deals with American firms instead.

King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud adopted the role of peacemaker on 16 September, hosting Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali at the at Al-Salam palace in Jeddah. The two African leaders signed the Jeddah Agreement for Peace in front of a huge portrait of the Saudi monarch, as both King Salman and his son Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman watched on. The details of the agreement were not revealed. The signatories were then each presented with the King Abdulaziz Necklace.

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.

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

Foreign affairs and international co-operation minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (ABZ) held talks with his British counterpart Jeremy Hunt and minister of state for the Middle East Alistair Burt in separate meetings on 6 September. Among the topics up for discussion was the Yemen war – the UK government continues to offer fulsome support to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, not least through the supply of weapons to Saudi and UAE forces. The discussions also touched on the current situation in Syria and Libya.

Saudi economy and planning minister Mohammed Bin Mazyad Al-Tuwaijri and UAE cabinet affairs minister Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Gergawi co-chaired the first meeting of the executive committee of the Saudi-Emirati Co-ordination Council in Jeddah on 15 September.

An employee at JFK airport in New York has been charged with taking bribes from Qatar and other unnamed governments in return for allowing them to park government jets overnight at the airport. Marlene Mizzi, an assistant airport duty supervisor at JFK until being suspended earlier this year, faces up to four years in jail if convicted.