Summary: On 20 May 2021 Arab Digest interviewed EU Ambassador and Head of Delegation Christian Berger about relations with Egypt and issues that included arms sales and human rights
Summary: wealthy Gulf investors see opportunities in the Rishi Sunak budget.
Summary: the Biden Administration will look to rein in Russia in the Middle East; but the latter will remain an ‘indispensable power’ in the region for the foreseeable future.
Summary: the Future Investment Initiative had a big splash at its launch in Riyadh in 2017. But after the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi ‘Davos in the desert’ has struggled.
Summary: Saudi Arabia has worked hard to sell an image to the West that it is supportive of women’s rights but the detention, torture and trial of activists and efforts to manipulate UN Women tell another story.
Summary: On 5 December 2019, Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering on the Saudi stock exchange Tadawul immediately made it the world’s largest publicly traded company but the IPO has come with a cost that is still to be reckoned with.
Summary: Saudi Arabia was hoping that the G20 gathering would help to burnish a brand that has been severely tarnished.
Summary: a bomb targets foreigners in Jeddah, the first of its kind for years; Islamic institutions are reshuffled as the regime attacks the Muslim Brotherhood. A new court case threatens to damage MbS’ international standing yet again.
Summary: Istanbul election defeat accelerates gradual ebbing of the AKP’s popularity, but President Erdoğan still holds other cards; a slow down in Turkish foreign military activity.
Summary: The US President’s re-election calculus stands to be more important in determining American policy in the Middle East than the views of any number of advisors and US allies.
