Artificial Intelligence is transforming the world’s industries, including in the Arabian Gulf state Qatar. The countries embrace of AI-powered predictive maintenance is set to revolutionize the energy and industrial sectors at home and potentially abroad. From reducing downtime to boosting sustainability, AI is positioning Qatar as a global leader in innovation.

Besides renegotiating trading terms with the European Union and freeing the UK from the World Economic Forum and other ‘globalist’ organizations, Reform’s ‘contract’ lacks a clear and coherent foreign policy. This is hardly surprising given populism’s dependence on ‘me first’ narratives. It nevertheless raises questions as to how a Farage premiership will conduct itself on the international stage, particularly with countries that have traditionally factored the UK into their foreign policy calculations.

These include the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, home to significant expat British populations and business interests. While deciphering a Farage-inspired foreign policy is not an immediate priority, the UK’s fractious political landscape suggests that it is better for GCC to be prepared.

As the third Doha meeting on Afghanistan concludes, it is evident that Qatar's leadership in international mediation is indispensable. This United Nations-convened event, which gathered representatives from over 30 countries and international organizations, underscored Qatar's critical role in fostering dialogue and seeking solutions to some of the world's most pressing issues. “In Doha, we have a unique opportunity to forge a path forward for Afghanistan,” remarked Qatar’s Minister of State in its Foreign Ministry, HE Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi, highlighting the gravity of the discussions.

Qatar — which is playing a crucial role in engaging with the Taliban and providing them with a meeting place to negotiate with global powers — took on a difficult task considering its relatively small size in the Gulf Cooperation Council. But the effort has paid dividends, with Doha building solid diplomatic credentials at regional and global levels by connecting Afghanistan to third parties.

Tens of thousands of ordinary Georgians continue to protest the reintroduction of the controversial “foreign influence” bill. Backed by the governing Georgian Dream party, the legislation requires media and non-governmental organizations receiving more than 20% funding from abroad to register as an organization "pursuing the interests of a foreign power". Critics have branded the bill the “Russian law”, warning that similar legislation has been used there to quieten free speech and crackdown on dissent.

Like many parts of the world, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has more than a passing interest in the current state and future trajectory of British politics. For year ending March 2023, trade between the United Kingdom and GCC countries amounted to £65.2 billion, making the Gulf region the UK’s seventh-largest export market. A UK government report also highlights that GCC Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) holdings in the country amounted to £15.7 billion in 2020. Close economic ties are complemented by positive diplomatic relations and a large expat British workforce in many GCC states.

Earlier this year, H E Lothar Freischlader, Germany’s Ambassador to the State of Qatar and Thomas Triller, Deputy Head of Mission responsible for economic affairs, met for a talk with representatives of the Autonomous e-Mobility Forum’s Executive Committee. Providing the perspective of a leading technology exporter and traditional automotive nation, the diplomats shared their observations and views on Qatar’s trajectory as a hub for dialogue, Qatari-German relations, global collaboration for a common good, and the potentials of autonomous e-mobility going forward. The German embassy indeed is the first diplomatic representation in Doha to utilize an electric vehicle as a staff car.

With today’s global challenges urging equally global responses, an overlooked subset of diplomacy emerges as potentially pivotal: innovation diplomacy, a discipline related to the overarching concept of science diplomacy. Characterized by particularly collaborative prerequisites, science diplomacy, though lacking a precise definition, is usually understood across three dimensions, which could work similarly for innovation diplomacy:

An estimated 130,000 British citizens currently live and work in the Gulf Cooperation Council states. Many of these will observe and indeed vote in their home country’s general election, which is widely expected to take place later this year. Like their compatriots, a variety of factors will ultimately determine for which party they will cast their vote, including the ongoing Gaza crisis. Writing for the UAE’s Khaleej Times, InStrat’s Adam Dempsey nevertheless explains why Gaza is unlikely to significantly impact the outcome of the UK’s next general election.

As we approach the upcoming Autonomous e-Mobility Forum in Qatar, it’s timely to assess our current status in smart mobility and the hurdles that await us.

The connected, autonomous, shared, and electric vehicles (CASE) mobility framework has been our guidepost for over a decade, providing insights into the most significant opportunities and predicting developments within these domains. With the Autonomous e-Mobility Forum on the horizon, what is our progress report, and what challenges remain unresolved in these critical areas of mobility?

According to the UN Environment Program, global food waste is the third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, just behind China and the US. Food waste today generates 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, directly adding to the issue of climate change.

Apart from leftover food emitting methane, this takes into account the energy used for growing, processing, transporting, and packaging food products for a global market. Consequently, food waste and food systems are among the most important challenges discussed at this year's UN Climate Change Conference, COP28 UAE.

Some 1.3 billion tons of edible food are being thrown away every year, due to inefficient production methods and limited access to technology (food loss) on the one hand, and wasteful consumer habits (food waste) on the other. In the GCC, food amounting to 10 million tons is wasted every year.

As the United Nations Climate Summit COP27 has come to a close in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, the conference’s key aim of ensuring full adherence to the Paris Agreement is unlikely to be fulfilled. Since last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, ‘only 29 out of 194 countries came forward with tightened national plans,’ a UN press release stated.

Yet, while most members are making some efforts to cap climate change, the Gulf Cooperation states have focused on the need for a two-pronged approach to climate — focusing on both oil and green energy — amid rising energy demand following the war in Ukraine and the nations’ reliance on energy exports as a mainstay of their economics.

Qatar will become the first Arab state to host the prestigious FIFA World Cup. Having a population of less than 3 million, it is the smallest host country to ever organize the event. Being a popular sport in the Middle East, soccer unites the region culturally and socially.

Even though Doha has hosted other sports events like the IAAF World Athletics Championships, the Asian Football Confederation Cup and the World Men’s Handball Championship, and will be holding the Asian Games in 2030, the FIFA World Cup is the largest high-profile event to take place in the state of Qatar.

As the event edges nearer, it promises to have a wide impact as fresh opportunities are emerging for Qatar, other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and the surrounding region.

Like other industries, environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria are also of legitimate importance for PR practitioners. Proximity to questionable corporate or political actors, child labour, environmental malpractice, and other issues, have profound implications for business and the wider profession. The expected ideal response is for agencies to distance themselves from such clients. But is walking away always the most sensible action to take? PR firms’ engagement with the fossil fuel sector, and calls to cut these ties, provide food for thought.

Qatar’s emergence as a key diplomatic partner during the evacuation was not a coincidence, but the result of the small peninsular emirate’s continued soft power diplomacy over the past 25 years. Along with an array of sophisticated long-term measures towards economic diversification, infrastructure, human and societal development across almost every sector, Doha’s calculations have included establishing Qatar as a diplomatic hub and an essential member of the current multilateral system.

Humanitarian aid has served as a linchpin for Qatar’s efforts to secure a leading role as an international mediator. While Qatar has repeatedly underscored the importance of separating politics from critical support for the Afghan people, humanitarian aid does have a long tradition in the Arab world.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that, prior to COVID-19, any number of international conferences took place on a weekly basis. Indeed, as the world moved into lockdown organisers responded by moving proceedings online or hosting hybrid events with strict hygiene protocols. And yet, as the recently-concluded COP 26 demonstrated, there still is an obvious need for policymakers to meet in person. The same can be said for smaller international events that have their own clout, and often are at the very foundation of positive policy discussions and developments.

The regional fabric provides food-for-thought regarding the theoretical sharing of such opportunities, even if the GCC remains an unlikely candidate, not just in light of the now concluded diplomatic crisis and blockade of Qatar. Doing so also justifies a look back at the deep commonalities that were more obvious before the rift.

Health diplomacy, a facet of foreign policy that serves both global health and international relations, has experienced an upswing. Looking at perhaps the most monumental challenge, steady global dispatch of vaccines and supplies, it is the logistics hub in Qatar that may bring decisive advantages to the international table.

Sudan got caught up in the rivalries between Gulf countries. At a time of economic crisis, the survival of its new transitional government depends on outside support.

Despite declining global popularity, press releases remain the workhorses of the GCC’s newsrooms and communications industry. Yet, as the region moves ahead with its national development visions, this tried and trusted PR tool might eventually find itself surplus to requirements.