The Middle East
Afghanistan
A monster miracle from a cave
In the history of sport, there have been many unforgettable victories. True testaments of teams achieving the unthinkable. The 1980 Winter Olympics men’s hockey...
Afghanistan
Russia and China poised to gain influence in Afghanistan
Amidst the chaotic scenes that ushered in the Taliban’s take over of the Afghan capital Kabul, coupled with the West's harried exodus from the...
Afghanistan
The legacy of failure in Afghanistan starts in 1979, not 2001
A decade ago, John Lamberton Harper, a professor of US Foreign Policy and European Studies at Johns Hopkins in Bologna, Italy published an indispensable...
Afghanistan
US Balkan allies to host Afghan refugee processing operations
Even before the Taliban had completed its occupation of Kabul, American allies Albania and Kosovo told Washington that they would serve as transit countries...
Afghanistan
A viable – and perhaps the only – path to lasting peace in Afghanistan
As each day goes by, the Taliban’s forces edge closer to controlling all of Afghanistan. In the first week of August, the Taliban swept...
Analysis
As the Gulf recovers, knowledge-based economies prove the way forward
As the world economy slowly emerges from the COVID crisis, it is the Gulf region that is making the most impressive rebounds.
At the beginning...
Archive
Ukraine’s Naftogaz seeks investors to boost energy security
Ukraine’s national joint stock oil and gas company Naftogaz said on August 6 it initiates the Ukraine Gas Investment Congress (UGIC) in order to...
Analysis
How the Austrians and their Chancellor charmed the Arabs
In late July, the Austrian capital of Vienna hosted a special guest. It was none other than the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The...
Archive
Eriell focuses on Uzbekistan and Russia, eyes Gulf region
Eriell, an international oilfield services group, presented on July 29 information on production indicators achieved in the first half of 2021 and upcoming projects.Despite...
Afghanistan
Afghanistan and the Great Powers
Can Afghanistan's never-ending internal conflict be resolved by the efforts of great and regional powers that have numerous conflicting strategic and global goals? Is...
Afghanistan
France has a generals problem: Why there’s a fray in civilian-military relations
The sensitive question of civilian control of the armed forces is one which Western democracies like the United States and France must continue to...
Archive
Revised OPEC+ deal very favourable for Russia
As the global economy recovers from the Covid pandemic fueling oil prices, OPEC+ countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, reached a deal via videoconference...
Afghanistan
Afghanistan: No peace without a clear vision
Peace is the absence of war, while war is the absence of peace! A negotiated peace in Afghanistan presents a number of challenges. The...
Afghanistan
Making sense of the Italy-UAE rift
Earlier this month the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ordered the withdrawal of all Italian aircraft and personnel from its Al Minhad Air Force Base...
Afghanistan
When the “New Middle East” meets the “New Europe”
Middle Eastern experts have commented widely on the “new” foreign policy of the United Arab Emirates. Many of these same commentators have gone so...
Armenia
Is Armenia heading towards a collision with the West?
As Iran sinks deeper into crisis, the ayatollahs are desperately seeking to strengthen ally-ships wherever they can.Iran’s economic situation has gone from bad to...
Afghanistan
From Vienna to Tripoli, the Muslim Brotherhood’s impact is felt on both sides of the Mediterranean
Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has recently undertaken a number of legislative initiatives that target Islamist groups and movements, which are active within the country,...
Afghanistan
A broken migration system
Turkey and Greece are both transit countries for migrants on their way to Germany and wealthy destinations in northern Europe. Migrants are resilient. Many...
Archive
Uzbekistan inks project deals with Masdar for 2 solar plants in Jizzakh and Samarkand
Uzbekistan’s Energy Ministry announced on July 12 it has now signed project agreements with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) for the two 220...
Archive
Russia unlikely to interfere in Saudi-UAE dispute to raise oil output
“There is a very wise old saying that ‘it is a very foolish person that seeks to interfere in family disputes,’” Chris Weafer, co-founder...
Afghanistan
Tribal truths: The wounds of the US’ Afghanistan exit
As a land heavily influenced by tribal practices, an Afghan proverb stating, “The wound of the sword will heal, but not that of the...
Africa
Morocco and EU host launch ceremony ahead of a landmark green energy partnership
With the European Union fully invested in promoting the transition towards clean energy and countering global warming, the EU and the Kingdom of Morocco...
Archive
OPEC+ seeks agreement on oil production policy
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC, an energy alliance often referred to as OPEC+, was expected to reconvene via teleconference on...
Archive
EU stands by COP26 and IRENA in global energy transition dialogue
The European Union stands by COP26 and renewables agency IRENA in their efforts to build a constructive dialogue about the global energy transition, EU...
Archive
China tensions, Iran nuclear talks support oil price hike
Oil prices traded close to a three-year high on June 24, supported by geopolitical tensions, including China and Iran, falling US inventories and prospects...
Iran
Europe should not remain silent as a mass murderer becomes Iran’s next president
Europe faces a new moral challenge of either standing by its human rights principles or forgoing them for economic interests after Ebrahim Raisi, a...
Archive
Open letter to European leaders on Iranian elections
Dear Josep Borrell, Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel:On Friday, June 18th, the Islamic Republic of Iran held its thirteenth presidential election since the...
Analysis
Iran’s election is about succession
Change will not come after Iran’s next presidential election on June 18. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will remain the supreme decision-maker both before...
Archive
Israel-UAE oil transport deal sparks environmental, security concerns in Tel Aviv
Israel's Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel has called on National Security Council head Meir Ben Shabbat to cancel an oil deal recently signed with...
Analysis
Europe must double down on fighting antisemitism
Whenever Israel exercises its right to defend itself against terror, count on a wave of violent antisemitism to sweep across the West. Last month,...
Archive
The last party in the oil market
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major crude producers led by Russia, a group so-called OPEC+, agreed on June 1...
Analysis
A fiscal pandemic on the EU’s eastern border may eventually strike at the heart of Europe
The economic crisis in the European Union that was caused by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has slowly started to subside after months...
Archive
No discounts on the EU’s fundamental values
Alexander Schallenberg has been Austria's Federal Minister for European and International Affairs in the second Sebastian Kurz government since January 2020. He previously served...
Israel
Arab-Israeli relations hijacked by radicals
Watching the latest rocket attacks between Hamas and Israel, it is difficult to remember the heady days of the 1993 Oslo Accords when Israelis...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
How international partnerships help boost Saudi intellectual property watchdog’s effectiveness
Realizing the importance of intellectual property in achieving the country's ambitions to stimulate business growth and economic competitiveness. the Saudi government has established the...
Archive
Uzbekistan President highlights green recovery agenda
Uzbekistan’s environmental protection and green recovery are high on the Central Asian country’s priorities, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said in his speech on May 30...
Analysis
Democracies must hold their companies to higher standards in China
Earlier this month, the New York Times published the findings of its multi-year investigation into how Apple has risked Chinese customers’ data and the...
Afghanistan
Turkey: A state sponsor of terrorism?
Turkey functions like a state-sponsor of terrorism (SST), fueling Islamist extremism domestically and deploying jihadist mercenaries to Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. Listing Turkey as...
Archive
Abu Dhabi’s Masdar wins solar power plants tenders in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan’s Energy Ministry announced on May 21 the winning bidder of public-private partnership (PPP) tenders for two photovoltaic solar plants in the Jizzakh and...
Archive
Ode to the Cold War: Geopolitics is more complicated than ever
“Christ, I miss the Cold War,” hisses Judi Dench while playing the role of 'M' in the 2006 James Bond reboot, Casino Royale. Well,...
Archive
Qatar Red Crescent’s Building in Gaza hit in air strike
The Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) office in Gaza was hit in an air strike, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Director...
Archive
IEA sets roadmap to net-zero emissions by 2050
Ahead of the UN COP26 climate change convention in Glasgow in November, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a special report released on...
Albania
Mid-East turmoil eclipses Greece’s latest Balkan initiatives
Greek officials found time to engage in several rounds of Balkan diplomacy this week, once again taking advantage of the presence in Greece of...
Analysis
Gaza media rules
No sooner had Palestinian “worshipers” on the Temple Mount chanted “Bomb, bomb Tel Aviv,” than Hamas gladly obliged and fired hundreds of rockets at...
Archive
US wants Iran nuke deal reinstated, but tied to safeguards
US President Joe Biden says that restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as 'the Iran nuclear deal', must be followed...
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan the Allies invested in the US’ security
After nearly twenty years of engagement in Afghanistan, the United States has now set in motion the process of pulling out all its forces...
Archive
Saudi ACWA Power to build largest single-site wind farm in Central Asia
In the presence of Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman and Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Investments and Foreign Trade Minister Sardor Umurzakov, ACWA...
Analysis
The significance of U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide
Like every U.S. leader before him, President Joseph Biden issued a commemorative statement on April 24 to mark the annual commemoration of the Armenian...
Analysis
The “Europeanization” of Greek-Turkish relations: Why the Greeks favor Ankara’s EU membership
Harmonious relations with Greece has become an objective of Turkish diplomacy. The European Union’s policy of conditionality linking progress in EU-Turkey relations to Ankara’s...
Analysis
The Eastern Mediterranean sideshow
We have just been through a week in which the world focused its attention completely on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Second place went to Afghanistan...
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