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.

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.

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.

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.

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.