This research paper finds that rationalizing electricity prices and recasting the subsidy as a cash benefit would not only improve the welfare of Kuwaiti consumers but also reduce electricity demand and emissions by promoting efficient consumption
Distortionary Effects of Kuwaits Cheap Electricity
Baker Institute for Public Policy
The growing influence of Chinese energy firms in the Persian Gulf is part of a deepening trade and geopolitical relationship as China takes a leading role in the energy transitions underway in the Gulf states and the surrounding region. Several joint ventures (JVs) have been formed between Chinese firms and state-linked Gulf entities, mainly in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Shaping the Energy Transition: Gulf-China Collaboration
Baker Institute for Public Policy
Oil-dependent economies in the Gulf are looking to Chinese tech firms to drive technological progress in the region. Contrary to the narrative that Beijing is imposing its “digital model” on Gulf states, Chinese firms have adapted their strategies to adhere to the local political and regulatory realities in Gulf nations
Local Agency Is Shaping Chinas Digital Footprint in the Gulf
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The hydrocarbon-rich Gulf states play a significant role in supplying the energy that fuels economic growth and declines in poverty rates. This role is especially pronounced across the Asian continent and the Pacific, where fossil fuels account for 85 percent of energy consumption
The evolving roles of the Gulf states in the low-carbon energy transition
Atlantic Council
On October 29, during Saudi Arabia’s annual Future Investment Initiative conference, Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman highlighted the kingdom’s plans for adopting low-carbon sources and renewables while maintaining “preeminence” in the oil sector. Dubbed “Davos in the Desert,” the high-profile conference is one of several events that show influential regional states increasingly prioritizing economic growth and energy diversification
Gulf Energy Transition: Assessing Saudi and Emirati Goals
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
On October 16, the European Union (EU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are set to convene their first-ever summit in Brussels, marking a historic milestone in forging a strategic partnership between these two influential blocs. This inaugural summit underscores the mutual ommitment to enhancing economic, political, and security ties, setting the stage for a collaborative future.
Reading of the Week: Enhancing EU-Gulf Strategic Relations: An Analytical and Foresight-Driven Policy Framework
Brussels International Center
During the coronavirus pandemic, disruptions to global supply chains exposed the United Arab Emirates’ vulnerability to food security issues, posing challenges in maintaining consistent food imports. The UAE government successfully ensured supermarket shelves were stocked by swiftly implementing various safeguarding measures.
The UAEs Path to Food Self-Sufficiency
Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
With scarce arable land and water resources, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia depend heavily on food imports, as do other Gulf countries. The COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine war, and negative impacts of climate change exacerbated the challenge and exposed the vulnerability of their existing food supply chains.
UAE and Saudi Arabias agricultural diplomacy in Africa: Competition, cooperation and its strategic implications
Observer Research Foundation
The Bahrain-China relationship has rarely garnered much interest – that is, until recently. At the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in May, the two countries agreed to form a comprehensive strategic partnership. The agreement skipped over a strategic partnership designation and placed the small Gulf country in the same category – at least on paper – as regional heavyweights
A Flurry of Activity in Bahrain-China Relations
The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
In February 2024, American oil giant ExxonMobil announced it was exiting the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, effectively severing a nearly three-decade-long relationship. The company played a leading role in the development of the oil sector in the African nation. In 1995, Mobil Corporation discovered the Zafiro oil field, and Exxon entered the scene after its takeover of Mobil in 1999.
Equatorial Guineas oil and gas industry continues to shrink
GIS
Iran has emerged as important player in regional power politics. With growing offensive posture in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and the broader region, Iran has exhibited capability to impart its influence at regional as well as global level
Irans Growing Assertive Posture and Its Role in Maritime Domain
Modern Diplomacy
After decades of inaction, Iraq is finally moving forward in adopting a more climate friendly energy strategy. In recent weeks, it has stepped up efforts to reduce sharply the enormous amounts of natural gas that it flares into the atmosphere and pushed forward with contracts for the country’s first solar power plant
Iraq Moves to Tackle Climate Challenge
The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
Hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 13, 2023, the UN Climate Change Conference (Conference of the Parties, COP28) ended with an agreement (‘UAE Consensus’) that was called historic by some observers: for the first time in the history of COP, the final communique pledged to transition away “from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner” by adopting a fossil fuel phase-out agreement in order “to achieve net zero by 2050”.
COP28, the Gulf States and the clean energy transition: No zero-sum game
Brussels International Center
The six member states of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (commonly known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, or the GCC) stand at a pivotal juncture amid shifting superpower dynamics. An ascending China and a resurgent Russia in the region coupled with a perceived US retreat from the Middle East add to this changing landscape, increasing the GCC’s need to hedge its bets.
EU-GCC Relations
European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)
The digital revolution has become a cornerstone of economic diversification efforts in emerging markets, particularly in countries seeking to reduce their dependence on oil and gas production. Among these nations, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia stand out for their ambitious smart city initiatives, integral to their broader strategies for economic transformation.
Transformational implications of moving toward smart cities in the Gulf
Middle East Institute
The Gulf states are key lenders of last resort, playing a significant role in rescuing distressed states in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond since the 1960s. This new report examines in depth how the Gulf states have pursued bailout diplomacy to cultivate influence and shape their wider region.
Gulf Bailout Diplomacy: Aid as Economic Statecraft in a Turbulent Region
International Institute for Strategic Studies
Solving Iraq’s demographic crisis will require immediate and comprehensive action at both the state and individual level.
Without these solutions, we risk extensively harming our future generations.
Adressing Iraqs Environmental Challenges: Population Growth
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
In recent months, Saudi Arabia’s ambitious investments in sports – with a particular focus on football – raised tremendous international attention. In December 2022, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was transferred to Saudi football club Al-Nassr, followed by a number of other stars such as Karim Benzema, Jordan Henderson, and Sadio Mané. Within months following the Ronaldo deal, stadium attendance had jumped from 8,000 to 10,000, as had TV ratings, while the number of Instagram followers of his new club had risen from 850,000 to more than 9.7 million in a matter of days.
The Development of a Community Sports Sector in the Gulf: A Driver for Youth Empowerment
Brussels International Center
Traditionally, financial assistance emerged as a key driver for aid politicisation as indicated by the Gulf engagement in countries such as Egypt or Tunisia that faced political turmoil after the “Arab Uprisings” more than a decade ago. In both cases, the growing rivalry between pro-Islamist Qatar on the one hand and the status quo powers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) played out also in the aid dimension.
Shifting Gulf Foreign Aid: Prospects And Obstacles In EU Collaboration
Brussels International Center
This brief is part of a larger research project, A Climate of Fragility, conducted by IOM Iraq and Social Inquiry, which provides the first detailed profiling of southern governorates in Iraq in a decade, exploring population demographics, housing, access to services, socio-economic situation, agriculture, migration, wellbeing, governance, security, and social cohesion. The profiling is based on a large-scale household survey.
Employment in the South of Iraq Challenging Prospects for Woman and Youth
International Organisation for MIgration
In an interview in Haaretz on January 1, 2023, Maj. Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman, former head of Military Intelligence and currently Managing Director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), stated that the Israeli strategy that sought (and seeks) to fell the nuclear agreement with Iran has failed, and that the last three Prime Ministers of Israel pursued this aim without presenting an alternative program.
Is There an Alternative Strategy in Response to Irans Nuclear Progress?
The Institute for National Security Studies
The Houthi are not an Iranian proxy in the sense of unquestioningly doing Tehran’s bidding, voluntarily or under pressure. Yet, the movement can be viewed as an informal partner of Tehran. Their relationship has evolved from a partnership of convenience into a more strategic one. Despite this evolution, the Houthi have remained autonomous with respect to their domestic constituencies, political strategy and battlefield operations.
Shades of grey: The evolving links between the Houthi and Iran
Clingendael Institute