5 Top Points
- Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister travelled to London for talks with British officials
- Qatar, Egypt and the US jointly push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel.
- Bahrain won four medals at the Paris Olympic Games, making it the most successful Middle Eastern country.
- Oman is developing a National Artificial Intelligence Policy.
- The UAE strengthened its Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism legislative and legal framework to ensure compliance with international standards.
‘Round and About the Gulf’
Kingdom of Bahrain
Sunday, 11 August—Bahraini athletes won four medals at the Paris Olympic Games, making Bahrain the most successful Middle Eastern country at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Two gold medals were won by Winfred Yavi (in women’s 3000 m steeplechase) and Akhmed Tazhudinov (in men’s freestyle wrestling 97 kg). Salwa Eid Nasser won silver in women’s 400 m sprint and Gor Minasyan secured bronze in the 102+kg weightlifting.
State of Kuwait
Thursday, 8 August—A London court ruled that the Kuwait Investment Authority, which manages the Gulf country’s sovereign wealth fund, is distinct from the executive organs of the government of Kuwait and therefore can be sued in the United Kingdom, opening the door for employees to launch legal action against the unit that has previously asserted diplomatic immunity.
Sultanate of Oman
Wednesday, 7 August—Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology launched a public consultation for the National Artificial Intelligence Policy in a bid to develop a comprehensive framework for the use and development of AI technologies in Oman’s private and public sectors while ensuring ethical use and protecting individual rights.
State of Qatar
Thursday, 8 August—Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah El-Sisi, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and US President Joe Biden, released a joint statement on the Gaza ceasefire. They called on Israel and Hamas to meet for negotiations on 15 August in Doha or Cairo in order to finalise a ceasefire and hostage release deal based on the three-stage plan proposed by US President Biden on 31 May 2024, and endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2735. The statement was widely welcomed, including by the European Union, France and Sweden.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saturday, 10 August—Saudi Arabia strengthened laws related to the Control and Anti-Corruption Authority’s jurisdiction in investigating illegal enrichment in public sector. The new law specifies the procedures for taking legal measures against any government employee in the event of amassing disproportionate wealth by them or their close family members and defines corruption crimes as bribery, abuse of authority and public funds and any related crimes.
United Arab Emirates
Sunday, 11 August—The UAE Government issued a federal decree, amending certain provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism law and establishing relevant committees in a bid to develop the legislative and legal framework to ensure compliance with international standards. Under the amendment, a National Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Illegal Organisations will be established. Additionally, a new Supreme Committee will oversee the National Strategy for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and a report evaluating the UAE’s compliance with international standards and their implementation.
EU Corner
Friday, 9 August—The High Representative of the EU for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, endorsed on behalf of the EU the call by the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and the US to conclude the ceasefire and hostages release deal between Israel and Hamas.
Key Official Visits& Contacts
Wednesday, 7 August—Saudi Arabia hosted the extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, convened on Iran’s request, to discuss the implications of the killing of Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Waleed Al-Khereiji, attended the meeting on behalf of the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs and stated that the assassination of Haniyeh violated the sovereignty of Iran and constituted a threat to regional peace and security.
Wednesday, 7 August—Saudi Arabia will host a donor conference to support internally displaced persons and refugees in the Sahel and Lake Chad region in Jeddah on 26 October 2024.
Thursday, 8 August—The New Alamein City hosted the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Egypt and the UAE to establish a new logistics zone for trading crude and petroleum products in the Mediterranean region with investments potentially reaching $3 billion USD (€ ) as part of efforts to boost Egypt’s role as a regional trade hub. Egypt plans to deploy the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone’s integrated system in the Hamra Petroleum Port on the Mediterranean coast. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Egypt’s Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, and key figures from Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. The agreement includes plans to use Egypt’s infrastructure and port facilities to handle and store petroleum products, create a new logistics zone and supplying the Egyptian market with petroleum products through Fujairah’s existing global partnerships.
Thursday, 8 August—Qatar’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, met with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara. It came a week after a week after the killing of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a day after Türkiye submitted a formal bid to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the joint Egypt-Qatar-US statement pushing for a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel.
Friday, 9 August—Bahraini Navy participated in naval exercises alongside navies from Japan, Pakistan and the US as part of a Regional Maritime Security Patrol deployment in Bahrain aimed at enhancing interoperability and conducting joint operations in the region.
Saturday, 10 August—France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, held a phone call with Qatar’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, during which he reaffirmed his call for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. Macron, who also spoke to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi earlier, added that France would continue to contribute to the United Nations’ peacekeeping force UNIFIL to help maintain stability in Lebanon.
Monday, 12 August—Bahrain’s General Sports Authority and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sports signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance collaboration in the sports sector. It was signed in Paris by Khalid bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of Bahrain’s Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Chairman of the General Sports Authority, and President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, and Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sports and President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Tuesday, 13 August—Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saudi, arrived in the United Kingdom on an official visit, where he is scheduled to meet with UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Lammy.