Saudi Arabia is launching an airline, alongside existing airline Saudia, to rival Emirates and Qatar Airways. Will they manage to compete with these airlines? Both have very established routes crossing East to West, which they dominate. Arguably, Dubai and Doha are now well-known transit points and holiday destinations because of these a...
New Zealand PM bows out
Here's an article from The Economist which, while talking about John Key's resignation, states that NZ is "one of the most successful countries in the world. While this is debatable, there is no doubt that Key has had successes- namely international recognition- along with failures, housing, immigration and the environment. We have yet to see whether the new Prime Minister, John English, will have the same success.
There's a lot of upset among the journalism fraternity that many journalists have been spied on, with Israeli spyware no less. This spying extends to news organisations such as CNN and AP. The journalists who work there thought they were immune to such intimation. Only people who worked for "less reputable" Middle Eastern organisations were s...
In this article, Ahmad Abdul-Rahman explains the geo-strategic importance of the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa is of great importance because it is one of the world's main sea-lanes both regionally and internationally. Sea-lanes are one of the most important elements of power because of their strategic and security role in maintaining the secu...
Ahmad Abdul-Rahman explains how the Syrian conflict has drawn in Western powers that have helped to reshape the geopolitics of the Middle East. The Syrian Spring has reached its 10 th year with a terrifying outcome from the conflict, as the number of victims reaches the thousands and the number of refugees has reached millions, according to a repor...
Lebanon is a mess, economically and socially. Much of the population (at least 55% according to recent reports) is struggling to survive. The value of the currency continues to fall (the local currency has depreciated by 90%) and the country is suffering from hyper-inflation. The country also has a political system that tries to appease all the par...
There's been a lot going on in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the last few weeks. There's been elections in Iran; an increased number of attacks in Iraq by Iran; the replacement of Israel's former prime minister and longest-serving, Benjamin Netanayhu with Naftali Bennett; and trouble between Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt with the pr...
The current changes in international geopolitics makes achieving unity between Egypt and the rest of the Arab countries an inevitable necessity. Ahmad Abdul-Rahman discusses the issues. When we talk about the importance of a strong Arab and regional order, we are talking about the need to restore the Arab ability to maintain regional and str...
Ahmad Abdul-Rahman looks at Biden's strategy for the Middle East and its geopolitical implications The Biden administration's new strategy in the Middle East is forcing regional powers to reassess their geostrategic interests and act in a way that may put an end to many of the conflicts that have plagued the region. Correcting the mistake When Joe ...
In the past, Israel and the UAE have had a tetchy relationship. This is no longer the case. The two countries signed an agreement signaling a rapprochement one year ago. The situation now is a far cry from when I used to try and contact Israel from Dubai. The telephone would ring but no one would answer. I wonder why? Emails would also leave (or so...
Ahmad Abdul-Rahman highlights the key factors that will impact the Middle East in the coming months, as the effects of covid-19 wreck havoc. Restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus and thus relieve pressures on weak healthcare systems have had an enormous impact on economic growth in the Middle East. In simplified terms, the Worl...
By Ahmad Abdul-Rahman in Egypt Since the American invasion in 2003, Iraq has been destined to follow the footsteps of Lebanon. Like Lebanon, Iraq is governed by geography, different from it in history, and similar to it in the birth of the modern entity after the First World War. Mesopotamia was from the days of Assyria and Babylon to the days of S...
The new Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, has a lot on his plate. Not only is he dealing with the Gaza situation- the attacks on both sides just keep coming- but he has to deal with the whole Arab world. Chief among the latter is Israel's relationship with Turkey. This article gives one explanation. Pinar Tremblay June 18, 2021 Former Israel...
Egyptian based journalist, Ahmad Abdul-Rahman, explains how geopolitics in the Arab world are changing and what this may mean for the rest of the world. The Arab world, with an area extending from the Persian Gulf to the Atlantic Ocean (about 14 million square kilometers), has witnessed important changes over the last century in its geography and p...
I apologise for not having been engaged with this blog over the last month. So much has happened, personally. My father has died. And after three ceremonies, clearing up his house, I have moved house too. All that has happened in three weeks. Now I'm looking for somewhere permanent to live. Now it's on to things Middle East. What's struck me is wha...
I srael has been going through a hard time not only with attacks from Hamas, and vice versa, but as a result of a prime minister who is constantly being put out of office- and then is not. All has changed recently, however, since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appears to be out of office for good as other parties have agreed to work together to...
Ahmad Abdul-Rahman writes about the implications of the post-golden age of petroleum on the geopolitics of the Middle East. The huge oil revenues of the Arab oil-exporting countries, especially the Gulf States, played an important role in shaping the structure of societies in these countries, the political geography of the Middle East and the world...
Ahmad Abul-Rahman in Egypt writes why major transformations in the Middle East will occur, which means turning away from Egypt. Egypt is waging a fierce political war on every side, to varying degrees, and has to overcome enormous challenges. These changes could drag the country into swamps, but will not change the region's geography. Turkey has a ...
Egypt is heading to achieve 4% growth for the current fiscal year. Savings achieved from subsidising petroleum products are estimated to be USD5 billion. Increased investment is expected to reduce the unemployment rate by 2%. Ahmad Abdul-Rahman writes. A recent study prepared by the Egyptian Center for Thought and Strategic Studies stated that desp...
In this article, Egyptian Ahmad Abdul-Rahman argues that Chinese diplomacy in the Middle East does not have a clear geopolitical agenda and interests. Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Sultanate of Oman, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Turkey and Iran, from 24 to 30 March. He was...
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict- especially, Israel and Gaza which is led by Hamas, which has been deemed a terrorist organization – is escalating. Is a full-scale war likely? What will it mean for the region and the world? I lived in Dubai for many years and have spent a few days in Bethlehem, in the West Bank. I was upset because the water, for ...