26-29 September: Affordable Housing Development Summit Middle East, Manama
27-28 September: Unconventional Gas, London
3-5 October: Middle East Investments Summit 2010, Dubai
3-6 October: SWPF - Saudi Water & Power Forum 2010 Conference & Exhibition, Saudi Arabia
3-7 October: Funds Forum Middle East, Bahrain
4-6 October: POWER-GEN Middle East 2010, Doha, Qatar
10-12 October: The 3rd annual Saudi Arabia International Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference, Dammam
11-12 October: Unconventional Oil 2010, London
12-14 October: Offshore Middle East 2010: The 3rd Annual Offshore Middle East Conference & Exhibition, Doha
18-19 October: Maghreb/Middle East Renewable Energy Conference, Marrakech
24-27 October: MENA Mining Congress 2010, Dubai
26-28 October: Iraq Mega Projects 2010 Conference & Exhibition, Istanbul
27-28 October: Gas to Liquids 2010, London
21-23 November: Private Equity World MENA 2010, Dubai
29 November-1 December: Iraq Petroleum 2010 Conference, London
6-8 December: Smart Grids Middle East, Dubai
Briefings & Reports
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Need an expert briefing to support an investment decision?
GSN’s team of experienced analysts are often called on by governments and their agencies, financial institutions, and energy companies to comment on developments in the Gulf region. Our analysts are available for private briefings (either by telephone or in person) and can produce tailored reports and research on a range of topics and issues. For more information contact Mark Ford. Email:mark@cbi-publishing.com
Politics, succession & risk in Saudi Arabia report
Politics, succession and risk in Saudi Arabia is a GSN special report, published in January 2010. The new report analyses Saudi policy on issues including succession, domestic and regional politics, defence, energy and financial trends, and features extensively researched biographical entries on 1,200 Al-Sauds from the ruling family’s main branch, together with profiles of leading cadet branch businessmen, and a range of maps and graphics.
Read more about the report
Islamic Finance Report
Published in June 2009, this GSN report is an essential reference tool for both newcomers, and well-established bankers and practitioners. Read more
Endorsements
"GSN now really is doing something (and at a quality level) that isn't available anywhere else that I know."
Professor Gerd Nonneman director Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies (IAIS), University of Exeter
"I have been a genuine admirer for many years. I regard GSN as the only one that focuses properly on Arabia and on Saudi Arabia in particular. That alone makes it very special as no country in the region is less understood in the UK than Saudi Arabia."
Stephen Day, consultant and former British ambassador
"GSN is by far the most professional and well-informed report on the region."
Luc Debieuvre, Bank Audi Saradar
"The website is excellent and adds value to an already very valuable publication"
José Silva Pereira general secretary Partex Oil and Gas
"Gulf States Newsletter provides a fund of information and insights for bankers and investors who are serious about doing business in the Gulf."
Francis Beddington, Banker and Economist
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announcements
Politics, succession and risk in Saudi Arabia
GSN’s new special report Politics, succession and risk in Saudi Arabia was launched to great acclaim at a 15 January seminar in London hosted and co-organised by Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. Senior figures from the banking, insurance and risk sectors joined industry and governmental political risk analysts for a frank roundtable discussion of the issues raised by a report that was recognised by discussants – who included Exeter University Professor Gerd Nonneman, political scientist Neil Partrick, Saudi academic Mai Yamani and Chatham House’s Maha Azzam and Claire Spencer – as a significant piece of research and analysis, which “raised the bar” for those researching the Kingdom. Read more about the report
The report is available to GSN subscribers for £175.
Need an expert briefing to support an investment decision?
GSN’s team of experienced analysts are often called on by governments and their agencies, financial institutions, and energy companies to comment on developments in the Gulf region. Our analysts are available for private briefings (either by telephone or in person) and can produce tailored reports and research on a range of topics and issues. For more information contact Mark Ford. Email:mark@cbi-publishing.com
Free email alerts of GSN's latest coverage
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Issue 881 - 16 July 2010
BAHRAIN
Bahraini politicians gear up for polls
There is growing concern over whether a new parliament will find a way to reinvigorate peaceful constitutional opposition at a time of pressure on the streets more
Bahrain’s new information body
King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa has moved the information operations of Bahrain’s old culture and information ministry into a separate new authority, to be headed by Sheikh Fawwaz Bin Mohammad Al-Khalifa, former youth and sports minister. He will have ministerial rank. more
Bahrain unrest increases as police murder episode still rankles
Growing youth unrest on the streets is a sign of the tensions that are building beyond the conventional political scene. more
GCC REGION
Human rights panel
The Gulf Co-operation Council has finalised plans to set up a new regional Commission for Human Rights, which the GCC claims will employ independent and impartial experts. more
IRAQ/TURKEY
Kurds, Ankara do business and reposition diplomatically
While most eyes have been on Turkey’s relations with Israel (poor), the United States (could be better) and the European Union (increasingly indifferent), the early June visit of Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) leader Massoud Barzani to Ankara gave another sign that the AKP (Justice and Development Party) government’s policy towards Iraq and the wider region was bent on ‘normalisation’, and that this could lead to Turkey supporting a more autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. more
SAUDI ARABIA
Special court head removed
Al-Watan newspaper has reported that the authorities have removed the president and two other judges of the security court where trials are ongoing for hundreds of suspected Islamist militants. more
From tense Basra and Baghdad to ‘relaxed’ Anbar: Iraq’s security outlook as US withdrawal looms
With the 31 August deadline looming for the withdrawal of US combat forces in Iraq, GSN has visited locations across the country to conduct a wide-ranging assessment of the security situation and the likely impact of withdrawal. We asked what the drawdown would mean on the ground and whether the Iraqi Security Forces will cope. more
IRAQ
The unique case of Anbar
Across Iraq the Iraqi Security Forces are less motivated by a need to defeat the remaining cadre of militants. more
Implications of US drawdown
Many parts of Iraq are already operating in a post-US mode, and some have done so for years, as the above observations reveal. more
DUBAI
Dubaians seek ‘dialogue’ on governance
Dubai remains firmly under Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum’s control; the majority of nationals still prefer to declare themselves apolitical. more
Financial turmoil stimulates dialogue for change in Dubai’s government
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum might argue that the financial turmoil is over, but an increasing number of nationals are asking whether a more rigorous reappraisal of legislation and business practices is necessary for Dubai to emerge from its traumatic debt crisis as a more transparent place to do business more
IRAN
Sanctions hit airliners, US targets gasoline
Underlining the impact of US-led campaigns on economic life in the Islamic Republic, BP has halted fuel supplies to Iranian airliners landing at any location following fresh US sanctions against the energy sector. more
Russian trade continues amid growing tensions
Russian energy minister Sergei Shmatko has ruled out reducing energy trade with Iran despite the sanctions imposed by the United Nations, United States and European Union. more
Issue 880 - 2 July 2010
SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia tackles fresh Al-Qaeda threat as role of women grabs attention
The recruitment and fundraising activities of Hayla Al-Qusayir, who was captured with 113 AQAP members in March, has highlighted the vital work of women in supporting terrorist cells. more
King Abdullah makes rare trip overseas
King Abdullah left Saudi Arabia on 19 June for trips – including key talks with political leaders – to Morocco, Canada, the US and France. more
KUWAIT
Government heads off debt bill
MPs have failed to force the government to endorse a popular bill that would have cost the state some $23bn to buy up personal loans and scrap interest. more
Court releases writer after international pressure
Kuwait’s criminal court on 28 June ordered the release of controversial writer Mohammed Abdulqader Al-Jassem after 49 days in detention. more
YEMEN
Saleh back in Cairo for talks
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh met his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak on 29 June at the Al-Etihadiah Palace in Cairo, where they discussed bilateral relations and ways of boosting co-operation. more
REGION
Petraeus returns to the fray as ‘Runaway General’ McChrystal resigns over magazine article
The Obama presidency has acted decisively to remove a dissenting voice from the top military team, opening the way for a further reshuffle of US generals, but not necessarily a change of tack on the operational front in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Gulf. more
GCC looks on as Petraeus job threatens to lock US into AfPak conflict
Gulf Co-operation Council states have long been the focus of efforts by US administrations and their regional military structure Central Command (Centcom) to enforce the Pax Americana. more
Issue 879 - 18 June 2010
IRAN
Fresh sanctions loom, but Iran’s regime remains firmly entrenched
One year on from the mass protests which threatened to overthrow the regime, a new round of UN sanctions will attempt to tighten the screw on Iran’s stuttering economy, but so far President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government has brutally seen off all challenges more
SAUDI ARABIA
Campaign to free Al-Reshoudi could signal a major breakthrough for reform
Lawyers believe the long fight for the release of human rights activist Sheikh Suleiman Ibrahim Al-Reshoudi is putting down markers for change and liberalisation in the Kingdom more
BAHRAIN/QATAR
Friendship Bridge mega-project ‘cancelled’
Rising tensions between the two neighbours and complications involving Saudi Arabia, rather than any financial or technical issues, may have led to the estimated $4.5bn Friendship Bridge between Bahrain and Qatar being cancelled, GSN was told – although financial strains were also apparent in the mega-project. more
