Gulf Arabs Take Fitful Steps to End #Qatar Squabble as #Iran Looms - Bloomberg

Gulf Arabs Take Fitful Steps to End Qatar Squabble as Iran Looms - Bloomberg:

Qatar isn’t currently in talks with the United Arab Emirates over mending a 30-month regional diplomatic and economic rift, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in a Bloomberg TV interview.

Qatar has held discussions with Saudi Arabia, however, and the easing of its earlier impasse with the kingdom has enabled the two neighbors to develop a line of communication, Al Thani said on Saturday in the Qatari capital. He held out the possibility of similar talks in the future with the U.A.E.

“Our conversation right now is with Saudi Arabia, and we think we are going to look at the rest of the issues at a later stage,” said Al Thani, who also serves as deputy prime minister. Qatar doesn’t foresee a date yet for a reconciliation agreement with the Saudis, he said.

Doha’s isolation from its closest and most powerful Arab neighbors stands in sharp contrast to their historically fraternal relations. The rupture occurred on June 5, 2017, when Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Bahrain and Egypt abruptly severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar. They accused Doha of bankrolling regional militant groups -- a charge it denies -- and undermining regional attempts to isolate Iran, with whom it shares the world’s largest natural gas field.

#UAE leaders reveal plan to develop strategy for next 50 years - Arabianbusiness

UAE leaders reveal plan to develop strategy for next 50 years - Arabianbusiness:

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, on Saturday announced 2020 to be the year of preparations for the next 50 years.

Declared "2020: Towards the next 50," next year will witness the biggest national strategy to prepare for the coming 50 years on the federal and local level as the country approaches its Golden Jubilee in 2021, state news agency WAM reported. 


Sheikh Mohammed issued directives to form two committees. The 50-year Development Plan committee, chaired by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, is tasked with involving all segments of the society in shaping life in the UAE for the next 50 years.

It will draw a new economic map for the UAE and develop "exceptional projects and policies" to make giant leaps in the national economy.

Traders Flock to Burgeoning Petrostate for Taste of Oil Riches - Bloomberg

Traders Flock to Burgeoning Petrostate for Taste of Oil Riches - Bloomberg:
Oil traders are packing their bags for a trip to the world’s newest petrostate -- a place they know remarkably little about.

At least half a dozen traders from Houston, Geneva and London are set to alight in tropical Guyana this weekend to bid on some of the first oil cargoes produced by the tiny South American nation. Ahead of the journey, the traders wondered aloud if they’re heading to an island (they’re not) and what language is spoken there (English).

Their lack of familiarity with the former European colony is a testament to Guyana’s unlikely emergence as an oil state. Long dependent on sugar plantations and bauxite mining, the country was the site of a major crude discovery by Exxon Mobil Corp. in 2015. Now it’s poised to produce more oil than neighboring Venezuela, a founding OPEC member.

#Qatar says there has been 'small progress' in resolving Gulf dispute - Reuters

Qatar says there has been 'small progress' in resolving Gulf dispute - Reuters:

Qatar’s foreign minister said on Saturday there has been small progress to resolve a 2-1/2 year dispute between the Gulf state and its neighbors.

Asked whether there was progress at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit held last week, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Reuters that there has been “small progress, just a little progress”.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of backing terrorism. Qatar denies the charge and accuses its neighbors of seeking to curtail its sovereignty.