5 Top Points
- The UAE signed its 11th Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Chile and concluded CEPA negotiations with Morocco.
- Qatar’s Emir met with British Prime Minister in Paris.
- Oman plans to expand its LNG production capacity for exports.
- The Al-Faw Archaeological Area became the 8th Saudi site to be registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
- Saudi Arabia submitted its official bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034.
‘Round and About the Gulf’
Kingdom of Bahrain
Wednesday, 24 July—Bahrain welcomed the statement issued by the United Nations Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, on the agreement between Yemen’s internationally-recognised government and the Houthis on the deescalation regarding the banking sector and the Yemeni Airlines.
State of Kuwait
Thursday, 25 July—The state-owned Kuwait Oil Company contracted the engineering firm KBR to develop a strategy for creating 25GW of green hydrogen and 17GW of renewables production capacity by 2050 to be used both domestically and for exports.
Friday, 26 July—Kuwait is reportedly considering reopening its embassy in Syria, which has been closed since 2012.
Sultanate of Oman
Monday, 29 July—Oman plans to build an additional liquified natural gas (LNG) train at Qalhat Industrial Complex in the Wilayat of Sur with a capacity of 3.8 million tonnes per year, which would increase the Sultanate’s annual LNG export capacity by about a third to 15.2 million tonnes a year.
State of Qatar
Sunday, 28 July—Qatar’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, received the credentials of Ambassador Mohammed bin Ali Al-Ghatam, Bahrain’s first Ambassador to Doha since the 2017 intra-GCC crisis. A few days earlier, Mauritanian President, Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, received the credentials of Ambassador Shaheen bin Ali Al-Kaabi, the first Qatari Ambassador to the country after seven years of strained relations.
Thursday, 25 July—Qatar welcomed the signing of the Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity between 14 Palestinian factions. The Declaration was signed by Hamas’ Mousa Abu Marzouk, Fatah’s Mahmoud Al-Aloul and representatives of 12 other Palestinian factions, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Palestinian People’s Party, Palestinian Popular Struggle Front and Palestinian National Initiative. The was negotiated with the help of Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Thursday, 25 July—Saudi Arabia imported fuel oil from Kuwait for the first time in more than two years in July to help meet peak summer power demand amid decrease in discounted supplies from Russia.
Saturday, 27 July—Saudi Arabia’s Al-Faw Archaeological Area, southwest of Riyadh, became the eighth Saudi location to be registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The area in Wadi Ad-Dawasir, at the intersection of the Empty Quarter desert and the Tuwaiq mountain range, is home to almost 12,000 archaeological remains and has a history of human habitation dating back more than 6,000 years. According to UNESCO, the site was a strategic point on the ancient trade routes of the Arabian Peninsula, but was abruptly abandoned around the 5th century.
United Arab Emirates
Saturday, 27 July—The UAE and Morocco concluded negotiations of the terms of their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The joint statement was signed by UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, and Morocco’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour. Among others, the CEPA will facilitate investment and private sector cooperation in priority fields, such as renewable energy, tourism, infrastructure, mining, food security, transport, logistics and ICT.
EU Corner
Wednesday, 24 July—It was reported that officials from the UAE, US and Israel held a meeting in Abu Dhabi the previous Thursday to discuss post-war plans for Gaza. The meeting, which was hosted by UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, was attended by White House National Security Council Middle East and North Africa Adviser, Brett McGurk, and Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer.
Wednesday, 24 July—Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lolwah bint Rashid Al-Khater, held a virtual meeting with Director-General of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, Maciej Popowski, to discuss relations between Qatar and the EU and ways to enhance them, developments in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and the development and humanitarian cooperation files in the Gaza Strip, Sudan and Afghanistan. The meeting was also attended by EU’s Ambassador to Qatar, Cristian Tudor.
Wednesday, 24 July—Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Waleed Al-Khuraiji, met with EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, Annette Weber, on the sidelines of the Second Consultative Meeting on Enhancing Coordination of Peace Initiatives and Efforts in Sudan, held in Djibouti. The talks focused on the latest developments in Sudan, Riyadh’s ongoing efforts to resolve the crisis and ways to strengthen EU-Saudi cooperation. Al-Khuraiji reiterated Saudi Arabia’s commitment to restoring stability in Sudan and urged all parties to support initiatives to end the conflict. He also met with the US Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, and the UN Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra.
Monday, 29 July—During a phone call with Kuwait’s Prime Minister Ahmad Abdullah Al-Sabah, President of the European Council, Charles Michel, reaffirmed the EU’s willingness to deepen cooperation with Kuwait ahead of the planned EU-GCC Summit.
Monday, 29 July—The German government called on all parties to the Middle East conflict, particularly Iran, to prevent an escalation after a rocket attack on a football field in the Golan Heights, which Berlin attributed to the Iran-backed Hezbollah, killed 12 children and teenagers. Berlin said that the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have also contributed significantly to instability in the region in recent weeks. The German, Italian and British Foreign Ministers discussed the latest regional escalation with Lebanese and Israeli officials.
Key Official Visits& Contacts
Wednesday, 24 July—Commander of the Sudan Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, held talks with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, in Port Sudan. It came after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to attend the Sudan ceasefire talks on 14 August in Switzerland as the US invited both factions. The US said that Saudi Arabia will co-host the negotiations, which will include the African Union, Egypt, the UAE and the United Nations as observers.
Wednesday, 24 July—The Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) signed a grant agreement with Tirana, the capital of Albania, to establish ‘Qatar Square’, a €11 million project spanning 23,700 square metres in the heart of the city. The agreement was signed by QFFD’s Acting Director General, Sultan bin Ahmed Al-Aseeri, and Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, in Tirana.
Friday, 26 July—UAE’s Minister of Culture, Salem bin Khalid Al-Qassimi, toured Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia in a bid to deepen cultural cooperation and foster mutual understanding with the three countries. In Slovakia, Al-Qassimi met with Martina Šimkovičová, Minister of Culture, and Robert Kaliňák, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the UAE and Slovak Culture Ministries. In Hungary, Al-Qassimi met with Balázs Hankó, Minister of Culture and Innovation, and in Croatia he met with Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Minister of Culture and Media.
Friday, 26 July—Palestine and Oman agreed on unifying efforts to achieve an intra-Palestinian reconciliation during a phone call between Oman’s Foreign Minister, Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, and Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Hussein al-Sheikh.
Saturday, 27 July—Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Alkhorayef, met with Eduardo Bartolomeo, the CEO of Vale Mining Company, in Brazil, to discuss the investment opportunities for Brazilian companies in the Saudi mining sector. Riyadh seeks to develop its mining industry and make it the third pillar of its industrial sector as there is an estimated 9.4 trillion Saudi riyals (€2.3 trillion) worth of buried mineral resources in the Kingdom.
Saturday, 27 July—Qatar’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, met with British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, at his residence in Paris. They reviewed bilateral relations and ways to enhance them, in addition to regional and international issues of common interest. The meeting was attended by Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, Saud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Chief of the Amiri Diwan, the UK Private Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Toby Parker, and a number of senior officials. It came a day after Emir Tamim attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
Monday, 29 July—An official delegation led by Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Saud, Saudi Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) President, Yasser Al-Misehal, submitted Saudi Arabia’s official bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2034 at a ceremony hosted by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in Paris, France.
Monday, 29 July—During a meeting in Kosovo, the CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development, Sultan Al-Marshad, and Kosovo’s Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers, Hekuran Murati, signed a development loan agreement worth over $14 million to finance the Pristina-Mitrovica Highway Project.
Monday, 29 July—Qatar’s Minister of Interior, Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani, and his French counterpart, Gerald Darmanin, met in Paris to discuss security cooperation, notably regarding the Qatari forces’ current participation in securing the Olympic Games in Paris and law enforcement cooperation.
Tuesday, 30 July—Chile’s President, Gabriel Boric Font, led a delegation of senior officials to the UAE on the first visit since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in 1978. He held talks with UAE’s President, Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, regarding cooperation, notably in (digital) economy, investments, renewable energy, climate action and infrastructure. The two leaders witnessed the signing of the UAE-Chile Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the 11th such agreement for the UAE and the second one with a South American country, which is expected to come into effect within six months.
Tuesday, 30 July—Kuwait’s Foreign Minister, Abdulah Al-Yahya, travelled to Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian.