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
GSN’s county-by-country coverage of the Gulf.
Select the country you require by clicking on the name of that country in the map below. Each country page includes recent and archived GSN articles, maps, family trees, and other resources. Regionally focused articles on a selection of issues affecting the Gulf may be found on this page, below the map.
Issues and ideas - a selection of regionally-focused articles covering key topics.
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. Issue 879, 18 June 2010.more
Saudi mediation cools tensions in Middle Gulf
Recent tensions between Manama and Doha are forecast to cool following reported mediation efforts by the Saudis. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad on 27 May rang Saudi King Abdullah to thank him for helping to appoint a new Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) head, a rotating post. Sheikh Hamad also rang Bahrain’s King Hamad to praise him for accepting the Saudi initiative. Qatari premier and foreign minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani was in Riyadh for talks with King Abdullah on 21 May. Issue 878, 4 June 2010.more
Another day another GCC maritime spat
The shooting of Bahraini fisherman Adel Ali Mohammed by Qatar’s Coasts and Borders Security Department has once more highlighted tensions within the Gulf Co-operation Council region over maritime borders. It has also sparked debate in Bahrain over the impact that reclamation work is having on the local fishing industry. Issue 877, 21 May 2010.more
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 Issue 880, 2 July 2010.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. But with some GCC allies already feeling distanced from high-level contacts in Washington, the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal as head of US Forces and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, and his replacement by Centcom commander General David Petraeus, threatens to leave them feeling even more distanced from the US civil-military relationship. Issue 880, 2 July 2010.more
Key officers in the US command
A new head will have to be appointed to US Central Command (Centcom). In the interim, deputy Centcom commander and US Marine Corps Lieutenant General John Allen will serve as acting commander while Petraeus is deployed to Afghanistan. Issue 880, 2 July 2010.more
Raytheon and MBDA fight for GCC missile sales
Despite the US company’s $170m deal with the UAE, European firms are proving increasingly strong competition for air-launched missile systems contracts Issue 872, 5 March 2010.more
UK deputy chief of defence staff Lieutenant General Simon Mayall was in the Gulf region in early July for meetings. Issue 881, 16 July 2010.more
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. Issue 881, 16 July 2010.more
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 Issue 880, 2 July 2010.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. But with some GCC allies already feeling distanced from high-level contacts in Washington, the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal as head of US Forces and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, and his replacement by Centcom commander General David Petraeus, threatens to leave them feeling even more distanced from the US civil-military relationship. Issue 880, 2 July 2010.more
Key officers in the US command
A new head will have to be appointed to US Central Command (Centcom). In the interim, deputy Centcom commander and US Marine Corps Lieutenant General John Allen will serve as acting commander while Petraeus is deployed to Afghanistan. Issue 880, 2 July 2010.more
Saudi Arabia leads way on project financing deals
A cluster of new financing facilities has raised well over $10bn, boosting the GCC’s project finance market Issue 880, 2 July 2010.more
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. Issue 879, 18 June 2010.more
Read more regionally-focused articles from the archives