5 Top Points
- Qatar hosted GCC’s Joint Ministerial Meetings with Yemen and Türkiye.
- Ukraine’s President was in Qatar to promote his Peace Formula for ending the war ahead of the 15 June Global Peace Summit in Switzerland.
- The Foreign Ministers of the UAE and Saudi Arabia participated in the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Russia.
- Kuwait’s Crown Prince travelled to Saudi Arabia on his first official visit since his appointment.
- Iran received a message from Bahrain sent through Russia to restore relations after several years.
‘Round and About the Gulf
Kingdom of Bahrain
Saturday, 8 June—Iran received a message from Bahrain sent through Russia to restore relations after several years, according to Iran’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Political Affairs to the Iranian President, Mohammad Jamshidi. Last month, Bahrain’s King, Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, expressed support for normalising relations with Iran during his meeting with Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin.
State of Kuwait
Tuesday, 11 June—Kuwait’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Representative of Kuwait’s Emir, Abdullah Al-Yahya, led Kuwait’s delegation to a conference ‘Call for Action: Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza’ coorganised by Egypt, Jordan and the United Nations at the Dead Sea. The international event, which primarily focused on resolving issues related to aid delivery and the protection of civilians, was also attended by European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič.
Sultanate of Oman
Thursday, 6 June—Oman was an honorary guest country at Russia’s St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment Promotion, Qais bin Mohammed Al-Youssef, led Oman’s delegation to the Forum as Oman and Russia seek to boost cooperation in industry, energy, tourism, science and technology, logistics, and food security. Adviser to the Russian President and his Special Representative for International Transport Cooperation, Igor Levitin, thanked Oman for supporting Russia in the current environment and noted the importance of the dialogue between Russia and Oman in constructing the international North-South transport corridor build new global transport and logistics chains and the development of bilateral economic and tourism ties.
State of Qatar
Wednesday, 5 June—Taiwan’s CPC Corporation signed an agreement with QatarEnergy to purchase 4 million tonnes of LNG per year for 27 years and acquire 5% in QatarEnergy’s North Field East project.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Thursday, 6 June—Speaking at the International Economic Forum in St Petersburg, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, said Riyadh will increase its oil production capacity from 2025 to 2027, before going back to the current level of 12.3 million barrels per day in 2028.
United Arab Emirates
Wednesday, 5 June—The UAE and Azerbaijan unveiled plans for three large-scale solar and wind projects with a capacity of 1 GW in Azerbaijan. The projects were announced by Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President, and President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, during a ceremony at the Baku Energy Forum. Azerbaijan will take over the presidency of COP29 from the UAE.
EU Corner
Monday, 10 June—Between 6-9 June citizens from the 27 EU member states voted for the new composition of the 720-member European Parliament for 2024-2029. According to provisional results, the European People’s Party will be the largest group (186), followed by the Socialist and Democrats (135), Renew Europe (79), European Conservatives and Reformists (73), Identity and Democracy (58), Greens–European Free Alliance (53) and The Left (36), with around 100 seats for Unaffiliated and Non-Attached members.
Monday, 10 June—The EU welcomed the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 2735 supporting the new ceasefire proposal for Gaza announced on 31 May. The EU affirmed its support to the comprehensive roadmap presented by United States President, Joe Biden, and urged Israel and Hamas to accept and implement the three-phase proposal. The Resolution was passed by 14 votes in favour, with one abstention by Russia.
Monday, 10 June—The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation into the acquisition of sole control of PPF Telecom Group BV by the Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC (e&). The move concerns e&’s acquisition of PPF group’s telecoms assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia for €2.2 billion. The Commission has preliminary concerns that e& may have been granted foreign subsidies that could distort the EU internal market and will take its decision by 15 October 2024.
Key Official Visits & Contacts
Wednesday, 5 June—During his second visit to Doha, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met with Qatar’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, to promote his Peace Formula for ending the war ahead of the 15 June Global Peace Summit in Switzerland, which will focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Wednesday, 5 June—Qatar’s Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Hanzab, held talks with NATO’s Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Security Policy and Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Javier Colomina, in Doha.
Wednesday, 5 June—Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, hosted Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, and Kuwait’s Foreign Minister, Abdullah Al-Yahya, for joint talks.
Wednesday, 5 June—Bahrain’s Minister of Health, Jaleela bin Al-Sayed Jawad Hasan, and Oman’s Minister of Energy and Minerals, Salim Al-Aufi, participated in the 2nd Vision Golfe Conference in Paris, which gathered officials and industry leaders to boost business cooperation between France and the Gulf countries, notably in trade, transport, energy, retail, sports, culture and environment. On the sidelines, the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) and the Marseille Port Authority (Port of Marseille Fos) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop collaboration.
Friday, 7 June—Qatar’s Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya), Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani, witnessed Lekhwiya officers participating in a parade celebrating the 210th anniversary of the foundation of the Carabinieri, held in the presence of Italy’s President, Sergio Mattarella, in Rome, Italy.
Friday, 7 June—UAE Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability Affairs, Abdulla Balalaa, led the UAE delegation at the inaugural Steering Committee meeting of the Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership (GFMR) in Oslo, Norway. The GFMR Partnership, a multi-donor trust fund focused on supporting developing countries’ efforts to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, was launched by the World Bank in collaboration with UAE’s COP28 Presidency in December 2023.
Sunday, 9 June—Bahrain’s King, Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, received General Michael Kurilla, Commander of the United States Central Command, at the Al-Safriya Palace, to exchange views on the latest regional and international developments.
Sunday, 9 June—Qatar hosted the 160th GCC Ministerial Council and two Joint GCC Ministerial Meetings, with Yemen and Türkiye. The two Joint Ministerials were co-chaired by Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, together with Yemen’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Shaya Mohsin Zindani, and Türkiye’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan. The meetings were attended by the GCC countries’ Foreign Ministers or their representatives and the GCC Secretary General, Jassim Mohammed Albudaiwi. The meeting came three months after the GCC and Türkiye agreed to start Free Trade Agreement negotiations.
Monday, 10 June—UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, participated in the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, which was held for the first time since the UAE, Iran, Egypt and other countries joined the group. Saudi Arabia is not yet a member and participated as an invited country to join the BRICS. On the sidelines, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister met with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and Venezuela’s Yvan Eduardo Gil Pinto.
Monday, 10 June—Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, met with several Finnish officials in Helsinki, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen; Chief of Staff to the President of Finland, Lauri Tierala; Director of Peace Mediation in the Government, Ville Brummer; and Special Envoy on Peace Mediation in the Horn of Africa, Suldaan Said Ahmed; and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament, Kimmo Kiljunen. The meetings discussed mediation and resolving regional and international disputes and developments in the Gaza Strip, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa.
Tuesday, 11 June—Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, UAE’s Minister of State, Noura Al-Kaabi, and Qatar’s Minister of State, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, participated in the annual Oslo Forum on conflict and peace diplomacy held in Norway.
Tuesday, 11 June—Kuwait’s Crown Prince, Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, travelled to Saudi Arabia on his first official visit since his appointment. He met with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud, at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.