The Gulf Nashra Weekly Digest
Sisi Meets MBS, Gulf Commentators React to the Alaska Summit, and a New Book Explores Chinese Influence in MENA.
Media Coverage
Geopolitics
“Saudi Crown Prince, Egypt’s Sisi Meet in NEOM to Discuss Bilateral Ties, Regional Developments.” Asharq Al-Awsat, August 22, 2025.
“Crown Prince Mohammed and Sisi stressed the need to speed up the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, the release of hostages and prisoners, and the rejection of any attempt to forcibly displace the Palestinians from their land or Israel’s re-occupation of Gaza.”
Go Deeper: “Egypt and Saudi Arabia: Any good relationship needs work.” Middle East Institute, July 2, 2025.
“Qatar shares peace draft with DR Congo, M23 rebels as deadline looms.” France 24, August 17, 2025.
“The official involved in mediation efforts announced the ‘preparation and sharing of a draft peace agreement with both parties as part of the ongoing Doha process’, with Doha set to host ‘an important round of negotiations’ soon.”
Go Deeper: “Qatar’s mediation – motivations, acceptance and modalities.” Consultation Resource, February 2024.
“AED 770.7 million in humanitarian aid stock at ‘Dubai Humanitarian’” Albayan, August 19, 2025.
“Giuseppe Saba, CEO and board member of Dubai Humanitarian, revealed that the value of humanitarian aid stock currently available to the organization’s members amounts to USD 210 million, equivalent to AED 770.7 million.”
Go Deeper: “Understanding Gulf States’ Foreign Aid: A Conceptual Framework.” The International Spectator, Jun 4, 2025.
“Saudi Arabia Undermines U.S. Bilateral Relationship with Execution of Shi’a Advocate.” USCIRF, August 22, 2025.
“The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns Saudi Arabia’s execution of Jalal Labbad, a Shi’a Muslim from Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, part of a disturbing escalation in executions that violate international law, including religious freedom protections.”
Go Deeper: “COUNTRY UPDATE: Saudi Arabia” USCIRF, August 2024. [PDF].
“Saudi Arabia, Syria Plan Joint ‘Fund of Funds’ to Expand Investments.” Asharq Al-Awsat, August 19, 2025.
“The development followed a high-level Saudi delegation’s visit to Damascus on July 24, led by Al-Falih, which resulted in 47 agreements and memoranda of understanding worth SAR 24 billion ($6.4 billion).”
“Al-Falih revealed that Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, Tadawul, has begun preparations for a feasibility study on creating and operating a Damascus stock market.”
Go Deeper: “Syria and Saudi Arabia sign landmark deal to promote and protect investments.” Syrian Observer, August 19, 2025.
Market & Economy
“GCC asset management hits $2.2tn in 2024 as Saudi Arabia, UAE drive growth.” Arab News, August 13, 2025.
“The GCC sector is in a strong growth phase, underpinned by sovereign fund strength, expanding retail investment, and strategic diversification. BCG notes the region is navigating global market volatility while positioning itself to compete with the world’s leading asset managers.”
Go Deeper: “GCC asset management base grew by 9% to $2.2 trillion last year.” Consultancy-me.com, August 20, 2025.
“Saudi limits foreign control: CMA restricts ownership to 49%.” Gulf Business, August 18, 2025.
“Foreign strategic investors, typically long-term institutional players with business or operational interests in the country, are not subject to the 49 per cent ownership ceiling. However, to qualify for this exemption, they must retain their investment for at least two years, a move aimed at attracting stable, long-term capital to the Saudi market.”
Go Deeper: “CMA prohibits foreign investors from owning over 49% of shares of any entity.” Saudi Gazette, August 16, 2025.
“Oman’s public debt drops to $36.7bn in Q2.” Arab News, August 18, 2025.
“Public spending reached 6.09 billion rials, up 5 percent from a year earlier, driven mainly by higher development expenditure. Current expenditure stood at 4.12 billion rials, marking a 1 percent decline.”
Go Deeper: “Financial Performance Bulletin: Second quarter of 2025.” Ministry of Finance, August 17, 2025. [PDF].
“Kuwait Fund provides $224mln financing for Gulf power interconnection expansion.” Zawya, August 18, 2025.
“Acting Director General of the Kuwait Fund Waleed Al‑Bahar said financing is being provided through two loans worth 70 million Kuwaiti dinars ($224 million) from the Fund to the Gulf Interconnection Authority (GCCIA).”
Go Deeper: “What’s behind Kuwait’s power cuts?” The National, April 05, 2025.
Domestics
Saudi Arabia: “Housing rents rise 6.6%.” Alwatan, August 21, 2025.
“The housing rent component led the increase, rising 6.6% year-on-year to reach 113.7 points. Riyadh recorded the highest jump at 12.9% (158.1 points), while Makkah witnessed a notable surge of 25.4% (100.8 points). In contrast, rents in Buraidah fell by 10.6% (145.0 points), while Jeddah saw only a marginal rise of 0.1% (116 points). On a monthly basis, rents increased by 0.2%, with Arar and Hail showing the largest monthly gains of 0.9% each, while Najran experienced a 0.4% decline.”
Go Deeper: “IMF Executive Board Concludes 2025 Article IV Consultation with Saudi Arabia.” IMF, August 4, 2025.
“Green Mountain Festival attracts over 150,000 visitors by mid-August.” ONA, August 19, 2025.
“Since its launch on August 1, 2025, the Green Mountain Festival has attracted more than 150,000 visitors from inside and outside Oman up to August 15. The number is expected to exceed 300,000 visitors by the end of the month when the festival concludes.”
Go Deeper: “Inauguration of the Green Mountain Park with integrated facilities.” ONA, August 18, 2025.
Gulf Opinions
This week, Gulf commentators turned their attention to the Alaska Summit between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin, held on August 15, 2025. From Kuwait, Nada Al Mutawa described the meeting as a “strategically significant” event, particularly given its location at the joint U.S.–Alaska “Mendrof-Richardson” base, a site historically central to Cold War surveillance. She emphasized that while regional media responses diverged—celebratory tones in Russia, skeptical assessments of failure in Europe, U.S. coverage framing the event as largely theatrical, and Gulf states expressing cautious support for cooperative efforts—the concrete outcomes of the summit remain uncertain, with many details “hidden from view.” Saudi scholar Dr. Muhammad bin Abdulrahman Al Bishr offered a similar perspective, noting that while media across the world heralded the summit, “much remains unsaid.” From Bahrain, Faisal Al Sheikh also echoed these concerns, stressing that it is still “unclear whether the summit will lead to a lasting strategic transformation or merely serve as a short-term political maneuver.” He argued that the timing itself gives the meeting particular weight: President Trump is seeking to project himself as a leader capable of resolving major conflicts, even as his administration grapples with complex domestic and international challenges. On the other side, President Putin is keenly aware of the need to expand his international influence through direct dialogue with the White House. In a similar vein, Oman’s Ahmed Batamira observed that the summit ultimately revealed a clash of “mutually competing ambitions.” In his view, Putin sought to consolidate territorial and geopolitical gains “without making concessions” while Trump pursued a “diplomatic victory” to bolster his image. Despite its spectacle, Batamira concluded, the summit was “strategically ambiguous and better understood as a prelude to future negotiations.”
Taking the discussion further, Emirati commentator Abdullah Al Hashemi, a retired Air Force Major General, argued that a “ceasefire in Ukraine cannot be reduced to bilateral talks between Kyiv and Moscow.” Instead, he framed it as part of a far more “complex equation” shaped by shifting battlefield dynamics, conflicting agendas in Washington and Europe, and mounting “global public pressure.” factors that render any temporary pause in fighting little more than a “tactical move” within a broader geopolitical contest. Finally, from Saudi Arabia, Hussein Shobokshi contended that President Trump views the Alaska Summit as an opportunity to draw Russia “back into the conservative Western camp.” This alignment, he suggested, rests on shared commitments to traditional values—defending the family, opposing LGBTQ agendas, and supporting the church—while recognizing Putin’s unique position as “the sole decision-maker” of a nation endowed with vast natural resources. Against this backdrop, Shobokshi underscored the absence of China, “the silent absentee” noting that Washington’s strategy appears aimed at luring Moscow with the prospect of lifted sanctions and even reinstatement into the G7. Whether Trump can achieve such a profound geopolitical realignment, however, remains an open question.
More Gulf Opinions
“History and events since the establishment of Israel prove the falsity of its narrative and the lies it promotes. It has never faced a direct threat from its Arab surroundings that would justify the major and minor wars it has waged. Israel has been the aggressor, creating pretexts for itself. The facts have shown that it is the real danger to the Arab region, not the other way around.”
Hamood Abutalib, Okaz, (Saudi Arabia), Aug 17, 2025.
“The dream of ‘Greater Israel’ was never a secret for Netanyahu the terrorist to disclose, it has always been the primary goal pursued by the occupying Zionists. The flag of the Zionist entity, chosen at its founding in 1948, bears two lines symbolizing the Euphrates and the Nile, with between them the so-called Star of David—though the Prophet of God, David (peace be upon him), is innocent of their delusions, their violations of Jewish law, and their distortions of the Torah. All Netanyahu has done is remind the Zionists of the broader settlement project, stressing its historical and spiritual character, while making clear that the Zionist entity has no regard for international treaties or the laws that govern relations between states.”
Sultan Al Khalaf, Al Rai, (Kuwait), Aug 19, 2025.
“The real battle is not between man and machine, but rather between one human and another, yet it is unfolding on an entirely new terrain: the realm of artificial intelligence. Whoever succeeds in cultivating this ground today with their values and principles will be the one to reap the minds of future generations tomorrow.”
Budoor Al Mutairi, Aljarida, (Kuwait), Aug 20, 2025.
“The claim that planes from the UAE carrying military equipment landed at an Israeli airport in the Negev is false and baseless, and the source of the report is unreliable. At present, there is an abundance of fabricated news about the UAE, and 99.9% of such reports are promoted by dubious Arab and foreign outlets that no reasonable person would believe.”
Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, X, (UAE), Aug 22, 2025.
Picks
Book: Jonathan Fulton “Building the Belt and Road Initiative in the Arab World: China's Middle East Math.” Routledge, July 4, 2025.
Analysis: “Financial Results Raise Questions About the PIF’s Investment Strategy.” Tim Callen, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, August 18, 2025.
Analysis: “Opportunities and Challenges of Introducing Income Tax in Oman.” Emirates Policy Center, August 14, 2025.
Analysis: “What Trump’s LNG Push Means for the Gulf States.” John Calabrese, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, August 14, 2025.
Analysis: “OPEC Is Pushing Down Oil Prices Despite a Cash Crunch in Saudi Arabia. Here Is Why” Jim Krane, Arab Center in Washington, August 21, 2025.
Research: Aisha Al-Sarihi “Creative Insecurity: Institutional Inertia and Youth Potential in the GCC.” Journal of Arabian Studies, August 17, 2025.
Podcast: “Inside the Gulf’s Political Economy and Diversification.” Interview with Robert Mogielnicki, Majlis & Markets, August 15, 2025.