Somalia

United Arab Emirates

Military & Security

Politics

Somalia's autonomous Puntland region withdrew its recognition of the country's federal government following the bicameral federal parliament's approval of changes to Somalia's provisional constitution, Reuters reported on March 31.

Somalia: Puntland Region Withdraws Recognition of Federal Government Following Constitutional Changes 

Saudi Arabia

Turkey

Economics

Turkey's Trade Minister Omer Bolat signed a deal to start talks for a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, Reuters reported on March 21.

Turkey, GCC: FTA Talks Could Increase Trade Values, but Negotiations Could Take Years

Energy

Gulf national oil companies Saudi Aramco and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. plan to extract lithium from brine in their oil fields, Reuters reported on March 8.

UAE, Saudi Arabia: National Oil Companies To Invest in Lithium Extraction From Oil Field Brine

Egypt

Qatar

Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly announced that Cairo reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to increase Egypt's IMF loan to $8 billion, The Washington Post reported on March 6.

Egypt: Cairo Finalizes $8B IMF Loan Expansion After Economic Reforms

United States

Israel

Yemen

United Kingdom

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications announced that three cable lines under the Red Sea that offer telecommunications and internet have been damaged, AP reported on March 4.

Yemen: Damage to Three Undersea Cables Confirmed in Red Sea

Iraq

Russia

OPEC+ agreed to extend crude oil production cuts through the end of June, Reuters reported on March 3.

Global: OPEC+ Extends Production Cuts Through End of June

Cuba

Venezuela

Iran

China

North Korea

U.S. President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Feb. 28 directing the Justice Department to establish regulations that prevent countries of concern from exploiting sensitive U.S. data, the White House said in a fact sheet published the same day.

U.S.: Executive Order Will Task DOJ With Establishing Data Protection Regulations

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that Cairo reached a $35 billion investment deal with an Emirati sovereign fund to develop the Ras al-Hekma peninsula along the Mediterranean Sea, Reuters reported on Feb. 23.

Egypt, UAE: Cairo Signs $35B Investment Deal With Emirati Sovereign Fund

Assessments

Sudan

The Mohajer 6 drone is displayed on Aug. 23, 2023, in Tehran, Iran. Through a sort of drone diplomacy, Tehran hopes to rekindle dormant ties with the Sudanese government to aid the latter in its ongoing civil war.

A stronger Sudanese government negotiating hand would result in a power-sharing structure reducing Rapid Support Forces, and by extension, UAE, influence.

Why Iran Is Sending Drones to the Sudanese Armed Forces

Ethiopia

South Africa

Brazil

Taiwan

Belgium

India

Leaders at the closing day of the BRICS Summit on Aug. 24, 2023, in Johannesburg. On Jan. 1, BRICS will admit Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia after agreeing at an August summit to expand its membership.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Taiwan's Election Media Blackout, BRICS Expansion

A grab from handout footage released by Yemen's Huthi Ansarullah Media Center on Nov. 19, 2023, reportedly shows members of the rebel group during the capture of an Israel-linked cargo vessel at an undefined location in the Red Sea. 

U.S.-Iran Relations

The rebel group's escalating harassment of commercial shipping in the region may leave the Biden administration with little choice but to directly strike back at the Iranian proxy.

In the Red Sea, Houthi Attacks Force the U.S. to Mull a Tougher Response

Snapshots

Russian President Vladimir Putin and UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attend a welcoming ceremony ahead of their talks in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 6, 2023.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The rare visit was likely aimed at aligning the Arab Gulf states on OPEC+ policy and assuaging their concerns about Russia's ties with Iran, but could prompt the U.S. to respond.

The Aims and Implications of Putin's Trip to the UAE and Saudi Arabia

Europe

COP28 President-Designate and the UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change, Sultan al-Jaber (front row, fourth from left) -- poses for a group photo along with U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and other participants in the Petersberg Climate Dialogue on May 3, 2023, in Berlin, Germany.

This year's U.N. conference will highlight disparities between the developed and developing world on climate ambitions, as well as individual countries' differing priorities.

What To Watch For at the COP28 Climate Summit

Kenya

Palestinian Territories

OPEC headquarters on June 3, 2023, in Vienna. OPEC+ will meet Nov. 26 to decide whether to deepen production cuts.

Social Issues

The Weekly Rundown: Climate Negotiations at COP28, OPEC+ Meets Following an Oil Sell-off

Bahrain

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Morocco

Oman

Syria

Tunisia

Students from the American University of Beirut (AUB) rally in support of Palestinians outside the main gate of the university in the Lebanese capital on Oct. 9, 2023. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Israel's likely ground invasion in Gaza will alienate many Muslims in the Middle East, pressuring their governments to respond in support of Palestinians.

Gauging the Regional Response to the Gaza Conflict

An aerial view taken Oct. 29, 2022, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Saudi-UAE tensions will intensify economic, diplomatic and defense competition, with implications for business operations in both and for security in countries like Sudan and Yemen.

Saudi-UAE tensions will intensify economic, diplomatic and defense competition, with implications for business operations in both and for security in countries like Sudan and Yemen.

The Saudi-UAE Regional Rivalry Intensifies

Iran’s foreign minister (right) poses for a picture with his Saudi counterpart on June 17, 2023, in Tehran.

The detentes that have emerged between long-standing rivals have made the region more peaceful, but old wounds could still reopen.

In the Middle East, Shared Interests Are Turning Former Foes Into Friends -- For Now

Sultan al-Jaber, the president-designate of the COP28 climate conference and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, speaks at the Bonn Climate Change Conference on June 8, 2023, in Bonn, Germany.

With one of the world's biggest oil producers at the helm, negotiations at COP28 are unlikely to yield progress toward phasing out fossil fuels, much to the West's chagrin.

How the UAE's Hosting Will Shape This Year's U.N. Climate Summit

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan attends a ceremony in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 11, 2019. 

41-year-old Sheikh Khaled will likely hold increasing weight over the country's policy direction and economic development as he's groomed to replace his father as president in the coming years.

A New Crown Prince Will Be Key in Gauging the UAE's Future

Columns

On Geopolitics

The director of the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, shows visitors around the facility’s Holocaust Gallery on Jan. 11, 2023.

The many foreigners enrolled in Emirati schools will bring home new ideas about human rights that could eventually inspire political movements in countries like Egypt and Pakistan.

The Global Impact of the UAE Teaching the Holocaust in Schools

The United Arab Emirates is located on the southwestern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. To its west is Saudi Arabia and to its east is Oman. Iran is only a few miles north, across the Persian Gulf. With desert in its west and south, dry mountains in its east and the warm waters of the Persian Gulf to the north, the United Arab Emirates' climate is unable to support agriculture beyond small-scale oases and camel herds. The country is divided into three broad regions: the coastal harbors of the Gulf, bounded by the sandy desert of the Rub al-Khali, or Empty Quarter; the interior, where settlements cluster around oases; and the northeast, which is broken up by the Al Hajar Mountains.      There are no natural rivers and few timber supplies in the United Arab Emirates, and nearly all the country's drinkable water is trapped beneath oases. In the premodern era, citizens mainly survived off piracy, trade and pearling, and the most powerful settlement was the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah near the Al Hajar Mountains. After the discovery of oil in the 1962, power shifted permanently to the more southern Abu Dhabi, which holds 94 percent of the country's proven oil reserves. These coastal cities are the core of the country. Founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan established the United Arab Emirates &mdash; the Arab world's only successful federation &mdash; in 1971 and ruled until his death in 2004. At that time, his son and current president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan took over power.      The United Arab Emirates seeks to maximize its independence while warding off the influence and control of more powerful regional players Saudi Arabia and Iran. To do this, it has leveraged its energy supply and strategic location to secure alliances with extra-regional powers like the United States. Utilizing its oil receipts, the United Arab Emirates has imported foreign labor from South and East Asia, as well as the Arab world. Combining that labor with global technology, the country has rapidly transformed itself from a desert backwater to a key transport hub, tourist destination and regional military power.  

SITUATION REPORTS

Somalia: Puntland Region Withdraws Recognition of Federal Government Following Constitutional Changes

Turkey, GCC: FTA Talks Could Increase Trade Values, but Negotiations Could Take Years

UAE, Saudi Arabia: National Oil Companies To Invest in Lithium Extraction From Oil Field Brine

Egypt: Cairo Finalizes $8B IMF Loan Expansion After Economic Reforms

Yemen: Damage to Three Undersea Cables Confirmed in Red Sea

Global: OPEC+ Extends Production Cuts Through End of June

U.S.: Executive Order Will Task DOJ With Establishing Data Protection Regulations

Egypt, UAE: Cairo Signs $35B Investment Deal With Emirati Sovereign Fund

Forecasts

ANALYSES

SECTIONS

Explore

Subscribe

Help & Support