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GSN research show that Gulf-based companies have invested in more than 100GW of renewable energy capacity around the world, in a global push to be a leader in future energy markets, as well as transitional hydrocarbons industries, that is driven by commercial and diplomatic imperatives.

Investor Prince Khalid Bin Alwaleed is set to join the board of Vesalius Longevity Labs, which is researching the potential for using peptides to increase human’s healthy lifespan.

Public works minister Nora Al-Mashan will take on the electricity, water and renewable energy file on an acting basis from the departing Mahmoud Bushehri.

The Omani economy grew at a healthy 1.9% through most of 2024, which was due to increased non-oil sector activity, as the hydrocarbons economy was affected by lower prices and lower output last year – which is being countered by efforts to develop new markets for LNG exports.

Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan’s one-day visit to Islamabad was the latest in the Abu Dhabi crown prince’s increasingly busy international schedule and involved a high-level delegation of security, investment and infrastructure officials.

Some $4.5m in a Riyad Bank account belonging to a Prince Faisal Bin Turki – who’s identity remains unclear – has been frozen by a judge at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur over alleged links to funds obtained fraudulently from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.

Baghdad has found itself caught in the middle of America’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran, as the US tries to restrict Tehran’s access to hard currency via the Iraqi banking system and its electricity exports. While Iraq is still able to buy Iranian gas, Baghdad is scrambling to secure other sources of fuel supplies in case that too is targeted by America.

The cabinet has approved a new National Investment Strategy, which includes targets to attract $65bn/yr in foreign direct investment by 2031 and to increase the total value of UAE FDI stock to $600bn.

In one of the largest corporate actions ever seen in the Gulf, Adnoc has agreed to merge its Borouge subsidiary with Austria’s Borealis and will also acquire Mubadala’s Nova Chemicals.

Ajman Ruler Sheikh Humaid’s low-profile brother, Sheikh Saeed Bin Rashid Al-Nuaimi, died in late February.

President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration has lost two senior figures after finance minister Abdolnaser Hemmati was sacked by parliament and vice president for strategic affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif resigned under pressure from the judiciary chief. The changes suggest hardline factions are flexing their political muscles at a time when the economy is under renewed strain from the Trump administration’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign.

Dubai-based Amea Power has signed agreements to develop 1,500MWh of battery energy storage systems (Bess) in Egypt and started construction of a 50MW solar power plant in Côte d’Ivoire.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are pouring billions of dollars into developing their artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, both in their own domestic economies and in key international markets led by the United States. While the business case of some investments is not always clear, advocates of the technology say it holds enormous potential to transform existing sectors such as oil and gas exploration and production, healthcare, education and defence, as well as creating new areas of economic activity, growth and employment. The two Gulf states have been investing in AI since at least the late 2010s, when institutions such as the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdelaziz College of Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technologies and Mohammed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence were being set up and the UAE was appointing a minister of state for artificial intelligence. Leading royal players are playing a big role in making the Gulf a world leader in AI, notably including Emirati billionaire and securocrat Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan,. This is a global race, however, and while the UAE and Saudi Arabia may have taken the lead within the Gulf region, the real competition is coming from China, the US and other international markets – and is often intertwined with tricky geopolitical considerations.

The Saudi utility developer has acquired $693m-worth of plants in Bahrain and Kuwait from French rival Engie, while also expanding its domestic portfolio in two other deals. 

Abeer Anwar Al-Awadhi becomes the second leader of Kuwait’s cybersecurity body, taking over from Major General Mohammed Bouarki.