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GULF IN REVIEW

26 -29 November 

by
Nikola Zukalová

 

Kingdom of Bahrain
 

Sunday, 4 November—Bahrain’s High Court of Appeal gave life sentences to three senior figures of the Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, a dissolved Shia religious bloc. Ali Salman, the group’s Secretary-General; Hassan Sultan; and Ali Alaswad were sentenced over collaborating and sharing sensitive information with Qatar's government.

Tuesday, 6 November—Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa received Sultan Ul-Bohra, Mufaddal Saifuddin, head of the Dawoodi Bohra sect within the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam, who was visiting the Kingdom. During the meeting, King Hamad praised the Sultan’s efforts to promote coexistence, religious tolerance and reject extremism. In turn, the Sultan hailed Bahrain’s treatment of the Bohra community, emphasising the religious freedom that it enjoys in the Kingdom.

Wednesday, 7 November—The Coordination and Follow-up Committee between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations Agencies, established in line with the UN-Bahraini Strategic Partnership Framework (2018-2020), held its second meeting. The meeting was chaired by Dr Abdulla bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s Undersecretary for International Affairs, reviewed various existing joint projects with UN Agencies, such as UNDP, UN-HABITAT, UNICEF, UNESCO, and ways of enhancing the cooperation in line with Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030.


State of Kuwait
 

Tuesday, 6 November—Kuwait hosted the 18th Meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which reviewed the implementation of the recommendations from the previous Meeting in April 2017 as well as the implementation of the GCC Supreme Council’s Resolutions to boost cooperation among the GCC countries.

Thursday, 8 November—During his two-day visit to Washington DC, the Chief of Kuwait’s National Security Apparatus, Thamer Al-Ali Al-Sabah, discussed relations between the United States and Kuwait, issues of common concern as well as recent regional and international developments with US officials.

Sultanate of Oman
 

Monday, 5 November—The United Kingdom announced it would open a joint military training base in Oman in March 2019 in a bid to enhance its ties with the Gulf partners and boost the UK’s regional role. London also opened a permanent facility in Bahrain in April 2018.

Thursday, 8 November—Between 6-8 November, Oman’s ASYAD, the provider of integrated logistics services in Oman, co-hosted the International Road Transport Union (IRU) World Congress in Muscat, where over a thousand decision-makers, experts and delegates from all over the world exchanged views and ideas about road transport sector, its opportunities and future. The Wednesday session was concluded by signing of the Muscat Compact, a framework for cooperation in the transport industry, emphasising environment, innovation, talent and trade.