Saudi Prince Bader Bin Abdul Aziz dies

Source: Al Bawaba News (Read full story)

The Saudi Royal Court announced on Monday that Prince Bader Bin Abdul Aziz has died. “The funeral prayers will be held on Tuesday at the Imam Turki Mosque in Riyadh,” the court said in a brief statement, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The prince was 81 years old and  the 20th son of King Abdul Aziz Al Saud, who founded the Kingdom. In a long and prestigious career, he served as Minister of communications and more recently as deputy commander of the National Guard until he stepped down in 2010.

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Oil, the US and the GCC

Source: Gulf Research Center (Read full story)

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Much will depend on how important security concerns continue to be in the region, relative to other dimensions of international relations. There is little doubt that interdependence between the GCC and other major Asian countries (notably China, India, and South Korea) will grow more intense, not just with respect to trade in hydrocarbons and other merchandise, but also in cross investment, movement of people, and technological and scientific cooperation. Such multidimensional interdependence will have an impact on the functioning of the crude oil markets, and may lead to a degree of regional segmentation, whereby the oil market will be less global and resemble more closely today’s gas market, rather than the other way around.

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World powers give Iran details of nuclear proposals

Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)

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The six last month offered Iran a softening of non-oil or financial sector-related sanctions in exchange for concessions over Tehran’s sensitive uranium enrichment operations. The offer, reportedly involving easing sanctions on Iran’s gold and precious metals trade and lifting others on some very small banking operations, in return demands a tougher nuclear inspection regime and the interruption of enrichment operations at the Fordo bunker facility where 20-percent enrichment goes on.

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GCC Macro-Outlook: Great in the Mid-Term, but What about the Long Run?

Source: The Middle East Times (Read full story)

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After the GCC private sector had taken over leadership in investment in the 80s and 90s, capital formation too is now again led by government, accounting for more than half of total investment again in Saudi Arabia for the first time since the early 1980s. Some of this investment might help in generating private growth in the future, but much of it is just to satisfy the basic infrastructure and utility needs of growing populations; in some cases, just like in the 1970s, resources also go into prestige projects of questionable economic value. Most worryingly, much of private demand in GCC economies remains indirectly state-driven: Different from almost all other economies in the world, the majority of the wage share in GDP typically consists of public sector wages, meaning that most household demand for goods and services is indirectly state-financed.

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Saudi foreign minister calls for arms embargo on Syrian regime

Source: Al Arabiya (Read full story)

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal called on Monday after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for imposing an arms embargo against the Syrian regime, adding that embattled President Bashar al-Assad has lost control on all of Syria.  Prince al-Faisal stressed Saudi Arabia’s support for the Syrian people right for self-defense against the brutal crackdown of the President Assad’s forces. The United States will continue to work with its “friends to empower the Syrian opposition,” Kerry told reporters. Asked about reports of arms being sent to the rebels from countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Kerry replied: “The moderate opposition has the ability to make sure that the weapons are getting to them and not to the wrong hands.”

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Gulf awaits Kerry with qualms over US policy – GCC officials ‘finding it difficult’ to trust Washington

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

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Sager said the US and the GCC also had “core differences on Bahrain,” where security forces boosted by Saudi-led Gulf troops crushed Shiite-dominated protests in March 2011. “The United States sees political demands (in Bahrain) whereas GCC countries see a problem of terrorism,” said Sager. On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Gulf states have made no secret of their frustration at the US administration’s failure to pressure its Israeli ally into a two-state solution. For Shaikh, the Gulf monarchies, which are staunch US allies, were alarmed by “how quickly (President Barack) Obama has moved away from his old allies” in Arab Spring countries like Egypt and Tunisia.

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End occupation, UAE tells Iran

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

The UAE on Thursday stressed the need for solidarity and cooperation among Muslim countries to overcome the current challenges, seize opportunities and urged continuous efforts to secure the Muslim nation’s interests and stature. Addressing the 12^th Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC), Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Dr Anwar Gargash said the UAE is following with great concern the current situations of Muslim peoples and communities and is eager to bolster ties among Muslim countries.

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