In a recent statement, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held that “good progress” has been made in negotiations on normalizing relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel. The statement was issued during Blinken’s visit to Cairo, which was followed by his to the Kingdom. He further stated, “I believe we can reach an agreement, which would present a historic opportunity for two nations, but also for the region as a whole.” Although he did not provide any timeframe, a major breakthrough is expected before…

The new Emir of Kuwait, Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, was sworn in on 20 December 2023, following the death of his older brother Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on 16 December. Sheikh Nawaf was the sixteenth Emir and ruled for just three years from his accession to the throne in September 2020. The late monarch took the throne at the venerable age of 84. At that time, he was already suffering from serious heart disease and internal organ damage. Perhaps for this reason, Sheikh Nawaf’s reign was characterised by relative calm. The past emir was focused solely on avoiding…

With more than 23,000 people, including thousands of children, killed in Gaza and Hamas far from eliminated – which was Israel’s foremost military objective – Jerusalem’s promise of the war continuing in 2024 is a stark acceptance of a failure. This is on top of the fact that it still does not have to plan to prevent civilian casualties. This failure has led Israel to strike in Lebanon. The strike that killed a Hamas leader was a calculated move. The objectives were twofold…

In the opening weeks of 2024, the US and British unilaterally launched several large-scale missile and air strikes on targets in territory held by Ansar Allah (referred to as the “Houthis” across the Western media) in Yemen. The strikes follow a campaign of missile strikes and boardings conducted by Ansar Allah against commercial shipping destined to and from Israel in response to Israel’s ongoing punitive operations in Gaza…

Vladimir Putin’s visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, his negotiations in Moscow with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the Crown Prince of the Sultanate of Oman, Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, have shown the integrity and viability of the idea proposed by the Russian president to create a multipolar world instead of the decrepit and incapable of anything unipolar world built by the selfish and self-loving West to suit itself. The visit undoubtedly emphasizes the ever-changing situation in world geopolitics, which allows Vladimir Putin to demonstrate a sense of …

The BRICS meeting in Johannesburg on August 22–24 has sparked a lot of interest around the world, which is debating what beneficial outcomes will come from this crucial forum. The focus is on analyzing and considering the admission of new BRICS members, including such a prosperous state as the United Arab Emirates. Why such a strong organization as BRICS has focused on this relatively small state with a population of roughly 10 million and an area of 83.6 thousand km raises some question.  The UAE is one of the world’s top oil producers, and oil and gas production together…

On August 5–6, 2023, Jeddah hosted the second international meeting of advisers to heads of state and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the Peace Formula. Saudi Arabia, which served as the event’s host, gathered delegates from 42 nations on the sidelines of its platform and secured the participation of China, which is considered Russia’s main partner in the Middle East. Despite the fact that the two days of consultations resulted in no breakthroughs, the Saudi media and community of experts universally hailed the meeting…

Very much like the rest of the world, Africa is changing. China, as a major investor in Africa, is one such source of change. But a recent surge in the investment made by the Gulf states has also started to leave its impact on Africa’s politics and economy. To the extent that Gulf states – especially, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – are trying to diversify their economies, Africa has become a major destination of their immense wealth. Africa’s untapped natural resources are an attractive – and lucrative – site for Gulf states, but in their struggle for influence and to expand their geopolitical reach, Africa is also a landmass that these states…

The China-brokered deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran and the Russia-brokered deal between Saudi Arabia and Syria gave a glimpse into how the shifting dynamics of global geopolitics are changing regional alignments. China and Russia need the Middle East on their side to be able to effectively challenge – and even reverse – the US-dominated system. The past few months have seen some success in this behalf, evident from the fact that many countries in the Middle East are no longer following the US dictates and that some are even challenging the US (Saudi), seeking concessions from it (Turkey), with countries like Iran already being in a perpetual tussle with Washington…

From July 16 – 18 this year, the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida traveled to three of the Arab Gulf states – the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. It was his first trip to the region – which is of growing strategic importance to all the major participants in the current stage of the great game of global geopolitics – since he took up office in autumn 2021. Despite all the talk about the need to replace the current “carbon-based” economy, which is dependent on the burning of hydrocarbon fuels, with a so-called “green” economy, the main global powers are as interested as ever in securing…

Termed Saudi’s “new oil” industry, tourism ranks very high on Riyadh’s Vision 2030 strategic plan for the country’s economic transformation away from reliance on oil as the major source of revenue. According to the plan, the Saudis aim to raise about US$46 billion annually from tourism by the end of this decade, i.e., by 2030. Saudi’s goal and China’s contribution to world tourism seem to have a perfect synergy. Before Covid, 155 million Chinese tourists spent US$250 billion world-wide. With Saudi Arabia looking to attract tourism, China becomes a natural partner…

Relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia remain far from being stable. Meanwhile, Riyadh and Tel Aviv, despite the Arab-Jewish confrontation, had in fact maintained informal relations until 1967. This conflict was marked by the presence of a common antagonist in Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who backed the Republicans in Yemen’s civil war against the Royalists, who in turn was backed by the Saudis. After Israel’s 1967 seizure of Jerusalem (al-Quds) and the Islamic shrine of al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, the situation in Saudi-Israeli relations…