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This special issue of GSN has updated risk management reports for each of the countries in the Gulf.  It also includes a leading article regarding the region's response to the end of Pax Americana.  This is followed by an analysis of Saudi Arabia and UAE's new defence arrangements in response to threats from Yemen and Iran. A look into rising economies coming out of the Covid crisis heads off the Finance and Business section.  This issue also includes a new News Review section wherein GSN looks at breaking news on power politics across the region. 

This issue of GSN leads with Saudi Arabia, where the authorities are trying to counter growing criticism over a programme led by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Public Investment Fund to redevelop large swathes of Jeddah. The issue also includes a focus on Kuwait which is facing yet more political turmoil as two ministers resign and poor relations between the legislature and executive have the potential to cause wider political problems. Defence and Security leads with an article on the future of the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG), as Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman reshapes the kingdom in his image. Energy and industry coverage includes a look at the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court's decision to rule as unconstitutional a 2007 law regulating the oil sector in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The GSN view examines an apparent new 'Golden age' for Qatar.

The issue leads with a focus on Yemen where a 60-day truce extension offers some hope for resolution of the conflict, but kidnappings and attacks by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) point to another threat to stability, which could yet drag the United States and others back into the crisis. Politics coverage includes a look at Bahrain's major cabinet reshuffle and Oman's restoration of citizenship to 115 dissidents and exiles. The defence and security section looks at reports that the US is drawing up plans for a regional defence co-operation agreement to counter perceived threats from Iran. There is also an examination of recent Red Sea naval exercises that involved forces from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Djibouti, Jordan, Sudan and Yemen. Finance and business coverage focuses on a filing by the Kuwaiti government in a Los Angeles court that lays out allegations of widespread fraud involving secret bank accounts, unauthorised transfers of funds and the purchase of properties in Beverly Hills. Energy and industry coverage leads with Qatar, where TotalEnergies has been selected as QatarEnergy's first partner on the expansion of the North Field, and also focuses on UAE and Saudi upstream investment plans. The GSN View focuses on Iraq, where after months of failed efforts to form a new government, Shia leader Moqtada Al-Sadr’s call for his Council of Representatives (parliament) members to resign has thrown the Iraqi political scene into fresh turmoil.

The issue leads with an examination of the geopolitics surrounding the construction of Egypt’s first nuclear plant and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s aim of shaping a nuclear Middle East where Arab states can confront Iran on an equal footing without having to rely on the United States. Politics coverage leads with a special report from Yemen focused on the impact of the continued blockade of roads into and out of Taiz, which is besieged despite a United Nations-backed truce that included provisions for the seven-year blockade to be lifted. Energy sector coverage leads with an examination of the oil market ahead of a crucial early-August meeting of Opec+ ministers. Risk Management Reports focus on the UAE's federation and emirates. The GSN View examines the prospects for a region-wide defence pact to counter Iran.

The issue leads with Saudi Arabia where Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), in a break from tradition, has been named prime minister. GSN's sources suggest King Salman's aling health is a factor but also important is the Bin Salman’s desire to cement MBS’ power within the ruling family and to protect him from legal peril overseas. GSN's coverage includes profiles of King Salman's children. Politics coverage includes a focus on Kuwait, where opposition and Islamist voices made gains in the National Assembly election and Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal reappointed Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah as prime minister. GSN also examines recent developments in Yemen and Iran. Defence and security coverage examines the use of Iranian drones in Ukraine and recent Iranian artillery, rocket and drone strikes on targets in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Finance and business coverage includes a look at the death of the disgraced former Kuwait Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) director Fahad Al-Rajaan and the more than $874m that allegedly went missing from the pension fund under his watch. Risk management reports are on Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The GSN View focuses on Opec+ and its early October decision to cut oil production.

Published in June 2009, this map provides an overview of global Islamic finance markets. Charts and graphics include Sharia-compliant financial assets by country (Dec 2007), Takaful operators by country (2008), Leading Islamic banks by asset values (Dec 2007), and Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) inter-regional trade

Less assertive until now in the region than its ally the UAE or rival Qatar, Saudi Arabia hosted the first consultative meeting of the Arab and African Coastal States of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden (AARSGA) in Riyadh on 12 December, attended by foreign ministers from seven countries. A communiqué said AARSGA was set up to enhance co-operation “in the political, economic, cultural, environmental and security fields”. A follow-up meeting of senior officials is due to be held in Cairo.

Oil major ExxonMobil has broken its silence over its controversial production-sharing contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), although it did not comment on the resultant tension with Baghdad.

The private political risk insurance (PRI) market is open for Iraqi risks, sometimes with a degree more flexibility than its official export agency counterparts. “Contracts continue to be insured”, said Harry Doyne-Ditmas, the Dubai-based leader in JLT Specialty’s credit, political and security risk team covering the Middle East and Africa. He said JLT typically receives “one to two enquiries a month, which has been the case for the past couple of years”.

3A former associate and financial advisor of imprisoned Prince Salman Bin Abdelaziz Bin Salman has hired Washington DC-based Sonoran Policy Group to lobby for his release with the governments of the US, UK, France and other European Union countries, in a $2m contract. Prince Salman was detained in January 2018, according to several reports – although they differ on the reason why. The kingdom’s attorney general said at the time 11 princes had been arrested for staging a palace sit-in over a royal order halting payments to Al-Saud members for their utility bills.

According to the ScienceDaily.com website, Prince Abdelrahman, son of Prince Bandar Bin Abdulaziz (GSN 820/7), is carrying out research at Queen’s University.

The former vice-president of defence contractor IAP Worldwide Services, which was fined $7.1m in June for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) offences, has been jailed for 120 days by a Virginia court. James Michael Rama pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions. According to the US Department of Justice, IAP and Rama conspired to ensure that IAP would be the consultant on phase one (planning and feasibility) of the Ministry of Interior’s Kuwait Security Programme, intended to provide surveillance capabilities for government agencies, in order to tailor requirements for phase two – installation – contracts. Revenues from the phase two contract were expected to be substantially greater than from phase one.

The Council of Ministers (cabinet) has approved a plan to loosen restrictions on expatriate visas in an effort to attract more international investment into the kingdom. The new ‘green card’ permits will be offered without the need for a local sponsor; those granted a new residency permit will be allowed to allocate visas for family members and to own real estate in the country. There will be two types of permit: one offering permanent residency and the other renewable on an annual basis.

Sanctions take effect: US sanctions are again having a marked impact on the economy, with inflation rising and the rial under pressure in foreign exchange markets. This is reflected in the political arena, where hardliners are mounting a sustained campaign against President Hassan Rouhani and his team. Economic affairs and finance minister Massoud Karbasian and co-operatives, labour and social welfare minister Ali Rabiei were voted out of office by MPs in August. However, Rouhani has been responding.

The Saudi government has been urged to push forward with moves to lift a ban on sports in girls’ state schools, after the shura council on 8 April recommended an end to the ban, which was relaxed in private schools last year, state media reported. It is now up to the education ministry to decide whether to lift the ban. Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the government to “set out a clear strategy and accelerated timeline for rolling out physical education for girls in public and private schools” and demanded that the kingdom start licensing women’s gyms and facilitate the participation of women in all sports.