5 Top Points

1. Qatar’s Emir met with Russia’s President at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit and accepted his invitation to visit Moscow, before heading on an official visit to Poland.
2. The UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs was among the first officials to receive a phone call from the new British Foreign Minister.
3. Kuwait and Romania heightened the level of their cybersecurity cooperation.
4. Saudi Arabia and Estonia agreed to enhance political consultations and expand cooperation during the Saudi Foreign Minister’s visit to Tallinn.
5. The 25th GCC-EU Political Committee Meeting was held in Brussels.

‘Round and About the Gulf’

Kingdom of Bahrain
Wednesday, 3 July—Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf Air, launched direct flights from Bahrain to Munich, Germany, from 1 July. They will be operated four times a week and will expand the Gulf Air’s flight offers beyond the daily flights to Frankfurt.

Wednesday, 3 July—Bahrain became the second country after the UAE to sign up to the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, committing itself to cut the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases, by more than 80% over the next 30 years.

State of Kuwait
Friday, 5 July—Kuwait’s Finance and Investment Minister, Dr. Anwar Al-Mudhaf, emphasised the need for economic reforms, focusing on fiscal sustainability and diversifying non-oil revenues to strengthen Kuwait’s economy, as he anticipates a state budget deficit of 26 billion Kuwaiti dinars (KWD, approximately €78.5 billion) over the next four years. In the 2024-2025 fiscal year, Kuwait expects revenues of 18.9 billion KWD (€57 billion), expenditure of 24.5 billion dinars (€74 billion), resulting in a projected deficit of 5.6 billion KWD (€17 billion).

Sultanate of Oman
Wednesday, 3 July—Oman is advancing the legislative process to introduce a personal income tax for high-income individuals. Oman’s Shura Council forwarded the draft law on Personal Income Tax to the State Council. The tax could be introduced from January 2025 and it would make Oman the first Gulf country to do so. While the details are still being finalised, the first draft envisaged 5% tax for citizens on net global income above $1 million and between 5-9% for foreign nationals on Oman-sourced income above $100,000.

State of Qatar
Tuesday, 9 July—Qatar’s Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya), Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani, met with the Qatari security forces that will help secure the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. They will contribute to the security operations with teams representing specialised units such as the personal protection unit, tracking unit, explosives disposal unit, cybersecurity unit, security patrols, mounted patrols, anti-drone teams, planning teams, logistics teams, airport security teams, among others.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Wednesday, 3 July—The new Saudi Social Insurance Law came into force, following approval by the Council of Ministers, increasing the retirement age in Saudi Arabia to 58-65 years for new employees in the public and private sectors and for employees with less than 20 years of service and those under the age of 50 Hijri years. This will involve a gradual increase, starting with an addition of four months to the current statutory retirement age, based on the contributor’s age at the date when the amendments come into effect.

Friday, 5 July—Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman AlSaud congratulated Dick Schoof on his swearing-in as the new Dutch Prime Minister, Labour Party’s leader, Keir Starmer, on his election as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Masoud Pezeshkian on his election as the new Iranian President. Similarly, other GCC leaders also send their cables of congratulations to the new officials.

Monday, 8 July—The United Nations (UN) Security Council adopted a Resolution 2742 extending the mandate of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), which was established on 16 January 2019 following intra-Yemeni peace consultations held in Stockholm, Sweden, until 14 July 2025.

United Arab Emirates
Monday, 8 July—The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure in collaboration with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced the launch of the Satgate project, which will use satellite and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance maritime operations by improving ship tracking, monitoring sea conditions, and forecasting weather in a bid to enhance the UAE’s status as a global maritime hub.

EU Corner

Wednesday, 3 July—Qatar’s Director of Policy and Planning Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Khalid bin Fahad Al-Khater, and the Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the European External Action Service (EEAS), Helene Le Gal, co-chaired the 25th GCC-EU Political Committee Meeting, held in Brussels. The meeting aimed to discuss ways to enhance GCC-EU strategic partnerships and exchange views on regional and international developments, with a particular focus on the Palestinian issue and regional security in the Gulf, including maritime security. The EU and GCC officials also reviewed the latest developments in Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen

Wednesday, 3 July—During his visit to Brussels, Bahrain’s Chief of Legal Affairs and Acting Chief for the Gulf Cooperation Council Affairs Sector at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al-Haidan, met Michael Hager, the Head of Cabinet of the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, to discuss several issues related to free trade agreements.

Thursday, 4 July—Luigi Di Maio, the EU’s Special Representative for the Gulf, made an official visit to Kuwait, where he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, among other officials to discuss the situation in Gaza, visa liberalisation, investment opportunities in construction, food security, and healthcare sectors, and a partnership between the Diplomatic Institute of Kuwait and the College of Europe in Bruges. Di Maio participated in the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the opening of the headquarters of the EU Delegation in Kuwait.

Monday, 8 July—The Director of Partnerships and International Relations of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), Hana Omar, received a delegation from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) at KSRelief’s headquarters in Riyadh to discuss cooperation on relief efforts in the region.

Key Official Visits& Contacts

Wednesday, 3 July—Qatar’s Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Hanzab, met with Italy’s Director General for Political Affairs and Security of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Pasquale Ferrara, in Rome. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral cooperation, especially in the humanitarian and development fields, and ways to enhance stability and peace in Afghanistan.

Thursday, 4 July—Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, and his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel Albares, held talks on ways to enhance bilateral relations on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the European Council on Foreign Relations in Madrid. At the conference, the Saudi Foreign Minister called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and expressed his support for the deployment of an international UN-backed force in Gaza to support the Palestinian Authority after the war.

Thursday, 4 July—Qatar’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, participated in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Astana. On the sidelines, he met with Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to discuss bilateral relations and opportunities to strengthen economic and investment cooperation, Qatar’s mediation efforts in Gaza and Ukraine, and the ongoing talks on potentially including Qatar in Russia’s North-South Transport Corridor project. Qatar’s Emir accepted Putin’s invitation to visit Russia and invited the Russian President to visit Qatar. Russia’s Ambassador to Qatar, Dmitry Dogadkin, praised Qatar’s accession to the SCO as a Dialogue Partner in 2023 and highlighted that Qatar remains the biggest Arab investor in the Russian economy and is set to host the Russia-GCC Ministerial meeting in September.

Thursday, 4 July—Saudi Arabia and Estonia signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance political consultations and strengthen their bilateral relations following a meeting between Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, and his Estonian counterpart, Margus Tsahkna, in Tallinn. The Saudi Foreign Minister later met with Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, who is expected to become the EU’s next High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, to discuss opportunities to expand bilateral cooperation and recent regional and international developments.

Friday, 5 July—Qatar’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, held discussions with Poland’s President, Andrzej Duda, during his official visit to Warsaw. They discussed opportunities to expand cooperation, notably in energy, technology, education, and defence, and discussed the situation in Gaza and Ukraine. The Emir was accompanied by the Chief of the Amiri Diwan, Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad bin Sherida AlKaabi, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al-Thani, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, among other officials and businesspersons. On the occasion, the 5th Qatari-Polish New Technology Forum was held and Qatar’s Anchorage Offshore Company signed a cooperation agreement with three Polish companies.

Friday, 5 July—A delegation from the Kuwait National Cybersecurity Center, led by its Chief, Mohammad Bouarki, visited Romania and held meetings with several officials including Romanian Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitization, Ivan Bogdan-Gruia, Director General of the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics, Adrian Victor Vivera, and the Head of the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications of Romania, Valerio Zaguna, among others. Kuwait and Romania discussed the possibility of establishing a cybersecurity operations centre operated by artificial intelligence, research on the safe ways to use artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in supporting scientific research programs in universities and research institutions in cybersecurity

Saturday, 6 July—The UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, was one of the first dignitaries the new British Foreign Minister, David Lammy, called after assuming his new post, after speaking to his Ukrainian, US and Irish counterparts. Lammy vowed to work to reconnect Britain to build a better future. A day later, the new British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, spoke to the first leader from a Gulf country, UAE’s President, Mohamed bin Zayed AlNahyan. They agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation on defence, cyber security, trade and investment ties.

Sunday, 7 July—The UAE’s Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sultan Al-Mansoori, led a high-level delegation to Türkiye to explore enhancing economic and investment cooperation, including in food and water security, infrastructure development projects, railways, civil aviation, and others. He held meetings with Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure; Mustafa Tuzcu, Deputy Minister of Trade; Hakan Yurdakul, Member of the Turkish Presidential Economic Council; Mehmet Ali Akarca, Chairperson of DEIK/Turkey-UAE Business Council; Mustafa Gültepe, President of Turkish Exporter’s Assembly (TIM); and Burak Dağlıoğlu, President of Investment Office of the Presidency of Türkiye.

Monday, 8 July—Oman’s Minister of Energy and Minerals, Salim Nasser Al-Aufi, participated in a symposium on hydrogen in Amsterdam. He showcased Oman’s strategy for the green hydrogen sector and stressed the significance of consolidating international cooperation to develop trade corridors of hydrogen and its derivatives. The Omani delegation also held talks with various companies regarding the transportation of hydrogen.

Monday, 8 July—Iraq’s Minister of Interior, Lieutenant General Abdulamir Kamel Al-Shammari, and his accompanying delegation, visited Kuwait and met with the Emir Meshal Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and Interior and Defence Minister, Fahad Yousef Al-Sabah. On the occasion, Iraq and Kuwait discussed enhancing security cooperation, notably in the fight against human smuggling, and the Iraqi Interior Minister invited his Kuwaiti counterpart to participate in an international event in Baghdad later this year focusing on the fight against narcotics.

Monday, 8 July—Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani, and Iraq’s Minister of Commerce, Athir Daoud Salman Al-Ghurairi, co-chaired the seventh Qatari-Iraqi Joint Committee for Economic and Trade Cooperation in Baghdad. The meeting aimed to discuss enhancing economic and investment ties, notably in industry, infrastructure development, renewable energy projects, digital transformation, financial services and logistics.

Tuesday, 9 July—President of the Dutch Senate, Jan Anthonie Bruijn, met with Qatar’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Mutlaq bin Majid Al-Qahtani, to discuss cooperation between the two countries.