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Risk grades: Abu Dhabi A1, Dubai A2. RAK’s Russian links: A delegation from the Ural region of Russia visited Ras Al-Khaimah in early November, comprising business owners involved in real estate, engineering services, IT development, food production and investment.

Climate goals: Ahead of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai, the UAE has set out a national action plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 – while also remaining a world-leading oil producer.

The Riyadh-based Hevolution Foundation, set up in 2018 and now jointly run by Princess Haya Bint Khalid Bin Bandar Al-Saud and former Mayo Clinic endocrinologist Mehmood Khan, is due to hold its inaugural Global Healthspan Summit in late November. The event will focus on extending healthy years of life and announce investments in the sector. 

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.

A 60-year operating licence for the fourth and final unit at the UAE's Barakah nuclear power plant was issued to Nawah Energy Company by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation. The plant will have a total generation capacity of 5.6GW once complete.

Saudi Arabia's energy minister Prince Abdelaziz Bin Salman Bin Abdelaziz  announced in November that Saudi Aramco had discovered two natural gas fields in the Empty Quarter, at the Al-Hiran and Al-Mahakik fields.

Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said presided over the opening of the eighth term of the Council of Oman (parliament) on 14 November. On 18 November, he reviewed a miliary parade at Adam Air Base in Dakhiliya Governorate, held to mark Oman's 53rd National Day.

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.

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.

Saudi Power Procurement Company issued a request for qualification (RfQ) in November for projects involving some 3.7GW of solar power generation capacity in the fifth round of bidding under the Ministry of Energy's National Renewable Energy Programme.

Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa was given a refresher flying course in November. King Hamad, who among other titles is supreme commander of the country’s armed forces, graduated as a helicopter pilot in January 1978.

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.

Muscat has signed a contract to delivery 1m t/yr of liquified natural gas (LNG) to United Kingdom-based energy major BP. The agreement was signed by Oman LNG on 21 November and will run for nine years, starting in 2026.

Kuwait may be heading for a change in government and yet another general election, with a series of political challenges facing the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah – who, GSN understands, is in any case losing interest in the job.