The Saudi, Bahraini, and Emirati efforts to isolate Qatar logistically as part of the most recent Gulf Cooperation Council crisis will require a restructuring of the country’s plans for special economic zones (SEZs) – commonly known as free zones (FZs) in the rest of the GCC states.
On the heels of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to visit Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
On the surface, Yemen’s reaction to the Gulf crisis, in which Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, along with Egypt, have broken diplomatic ties with Qatar, was rather straightforward: On June 5, Yemen’s internationally recognized government cut ties with Qatar, accusing the country of backing the Houthis and Yemen-based extremist groups.
Three weeks after the Gulf Cooperation Council’s worst crisis erupted, the diplomatic and economic boycott imposed on Qatar – the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) – has created only marginal logistical disruptions for international LNG markets and has had no impact on oil supplies.
Challenges have now emerged from Qatar’s three closest neighbors that are testing its two-pronged security modus operandi.
On June 20, a U.S. State Department spokesperson announced what seemed to be a crucial shift in the U.S.
The isolation of Qatar is but one example of how the politics of the Gulf Arab states are getting in the way of economic diversification and transformation.
As tensions across the Gulf Arab states escalate, measures taken against Qatar are impacting trade, business, and food security.
The past week has witnessed an unprecedented escalation of tensions among the Gulf Cooperation Council states, culminating with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain severing ties with Qatar.
The past week has witnessed an unprecedented escalation of tensions among the Gulf Cooperation Council states, culminating with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain severing ties with Qatar.
The past week has witnessed an unprecedented escalation of tensions among the Gulf Cooperation Council states, culminating with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain severing ties with Qatar.
While any U.S.-Iran rapprochement could potentially ease sanctions on Iran, such a shift is poised to generate sharply divergent responses among U.S. allies.
Learn MoreThe acknowledgment of the growing interdependency between the EU and GCC and the rising diplomatic role of the Gulf Arab countries in global affairs have prompted Brussels to step up political engagement with the GCC.
On Syria, the United States risks becoming increasingly out of step with its key allies, who have moved toward diplomatic engagement.
Gulf governments are working to shift their strategies from natural disaster response to preemptive resilience strategies by identifying and mitigating risks before disasters occur.
Through its careful examination of the forces shaping the evolution of Gulf societies and the new generation of emerging leaders, AGSIW facilitates a richer understanding of the role the countries in this key geostrategic region can be expected to play in the 21st century.
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