Euro-Gulf Information Centre

 

Kingdom of Bahrain
 

Monday, 22 October—A Chinese business delegation, led by the Secretary-General of the China Chamber of International Commerce, Yu Jianlong, and composed of business representatives from various sectors such as petrochemicals, energy, renewable energy, constructions, and infrastructure, visited Bahrain to develop bilateral economic cooperation.
 

Tuesday, 23 October—Bahrain along with six other members of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Centre—Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the UAE, the United States and Saudi Arabia—designated nine individuals as terrorists or supporters of terrorism for their links to the Taliban in Afghanistan. In addition, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia added Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and some senior figures from its Al-Quds Force special unit, including its commander, Qassem Soleimani, to their terror lists.
 

Tuesday, 23 October—Bahrain’s King, Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, issued the 50th Royal Order of 2018, by which he entrusted the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, with developing the government’s executive branch. The Crown Prince will form and chair the Civil Service Council, which will be — from now on — responsible for the Civil Service Bureau, tasked with overseeing the civil employees of all government entities.
 

Wednesday, 24 October—On Saturday, the US Secretary of Defence, James Mattis, will deliver a keynote speech on the US policy in the Middle East at the Manama Dialogue, the 14th regional security summit, organised by Bahrain and the International Institute for Strategic Studies and held between 26-28 October in Manama.

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State of Kuwait
 

Wednesday, 24 October—Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, represented by its Undersecretary, Khalid Al-Fadhel, inked a Memorandum of Understanding on the development of industrial exports between 2019-2021 with Jordan, which should boost trade and economic exchange as well as investments between the two countries.

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Wednesday, 24 October—The Kuwaiti Army announced it will hold joint military training exercises with the French Armed Forces between 11-30 November as part of Kuwait’s efforts to strengthen military cooperation with armed forces of partner countries.

 

Sultanate of Oman
 

Sunday, 21 October—A subsidiary of Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), PC Oman Ventures Ltd, has reportedly reached an agreement to buy a 10% stake in Oman’s Al-Khazzan gas field, jointly owned by the Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production LLC (40%) and United Kingdom’s BP (60%). The deal is still subject to the Omani government’s approval and other closing conditions.

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Monday, 22 October—Oman’s Sultan Qaboos received Palestine’s President, Mahmoud Abbas, who was on a three-day visit to the Sultanate. They reviewed existing cooperation in various fields and discussed the latest regional and international developments.

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Wednesday, 24 October—According to Reuters, Oman has sold $1.5 billion in Islamic bonds (sukuk) to investors.

 

State of Qatar 
 

Monday, 22 October—Qatar Petroleum announced that it will sell 49% of its shares in the Qatar Aluminium Manufacturing Company (Qamco) in a public offering.

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Tuesday, 23 October—Qatar hosted the Sustainability Summit, organised by the Gulf Organisation for Research and Development, under the patronage of Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Abdullah bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani.

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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
 

Saturday, 20 October—Saudi Arabia confirmed on state TV, for the first time, that Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was murdered at the Kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. As a result, 18 people were arrested and some senior officials, such as Ahmad Al-Assiri, Deputy Chief of the Intelligence, and Saud Al-Qahtani, Crown Prince’s aide, were dismissed from senior positions. King Salman also announced the formation of a Ministerial Committee to reorganise the intelligence services.

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Monday, 22 October—Saudi Arabia announced the creation of a Special Economic Zone, the Integrated Logistics Bonded Zone, in King Khalid International Airport, in a bid to attract more multinational companies to the Kingdom.

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Monday, 22 October—Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), met in Riyadh with US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin. During the meeting MbS emphasised the importance of the US-Saudi strategic partnership. They also reviewed trade and investment ties and how to enhance them, and touched upon various issues, including joint efforts to fight corruption and terrorism finance.

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Tuesday, 23 October—Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet decided that it will allow foreign investments in various fields, including audio-visual services, road transport services, real-estate brokerage services and labour services, which were until now excluded to non-Saudi investors.

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Tuesday, 23 October—Saudi