Research Fellow on Europe & the Gulf at @ecfr. PhD @UniofExeter, MA @KingsCollegeLon. Non Resident Scholar at @MiddleEastInst. Writes in Italian @limesonline
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May 13 • 15 tweets • 20 min read
BREAKING: #UAE President #KhalifabinZayed just died. Crown Prince of #AbuDhabi since 1969, and Abu Dhabi Ruler & President since his father Sheikh Zayed died in 2004. The #BurjKhalifa was initially named to honor him.
A few words on him + what happens now in a thread. 1/
After #KhalifabinZayed suffered a stroke in 2014, his younger brother Mohammad bin Zayed (#MbZ) became de facto leader of the #UAE. Now the Federal Supreme Council (including the rulers of the 7 Emirates) will ratify #MbZ as official President of the #UAE. Basically guaranteed 2/
Oct 30, 2021 • 8 tweets • 7 min read
A thread on imagining impacts of the #Metaverse on “my” world. How will the job of a #geopolitics analyst be different? How will this new platform change international relations in general and the #Gulf in particular? Feel free to add your take, it’s simply thinking out loud. 1/
First, meetings & events. #Zoom events are here to stay, alongside in-person ones. But a digital event on #Metaverse could be so much better and closer to a real-life experience, enhanced by instant access to resources 2/
#EU Foreign Ministers meet today for #Gymnich. They will discuss #Afghanistan. But then they will discuss the #Gulf. This is a rare occurrence - EU Ministers have discussed #JCPOA often but very rarely regional geopolitics between the #GCC, #Iraq & #Iran. They do now because… ⬇️
…because of the #Baghdad_summit last week and #France’s involvement in it. Most in #EU that #Iraq can be the hub for regional diplomacy in the #Gulf, building on talks btwn #SaudiArabia & #Iran. Reality is that with no progress on #Yemen these talks are shallow but ⬇️
Oct 7, 2020 • 17 tweets • 11 min read
The moment we were waiting for has come. New #Kuwait Emir, #SheikhNawaf, nominates his brother Mishal Al-Ahmad as Crown Prince. He is a security person, w/past experience in the Interior Ministry and Deputy Chief of the Kuwaiti National Guard since 2004. Some thoughts. 1/
The National Assembly (NA) has to confirm Mishal al-Ahmad as #Kuwait CP with 2/3 majority. As @bmalsaif said, Emir prolonged term of the outgoing NA to Oct 20 coz it was the safer option - new Parliament likely to have more opposition members & elections vulnerable to meddling 2/
#SaudiArabia FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan has been quite busy these days! Today in #Italy, right after #Cyprus and, before, a North Africa tour. On geopolitics, Riyadh and Rome have two major things to talk about: #Libya and #EastMed. Both have to do with #Turkey.
#Italy and #SaudiArabia do not traditionally have an in-depth, serious geopolitical engagement. This is for many reasons, many of which are common to other continental #Europe-an countries, excluding #France. I have analysed those in my @ECFRMena paper: ecfr.eu/publications/s…
Truly fascinating story linking #tech & #geopolitics, and involving #Gulf. #Google sponsors new undersea fiber optic cable connecting #Europe & #Asia, specifically #Italy & #India, via the #ArabianPeninsula. Should cut costs by 50% & really increase efficiency. Few details 👇 1/
The cable will be split in 2. Blue goes from #Italy to #Jordan (Aqaba) via #Israel and is done w/Telecom Italia. Raman goes from #India to Aqaba via #Oman & #SaudiArabia and done w/Omantel. The split is due to Saudi opposition of direct link to Israel (normalization, much?). 2/
Jan 11, 2020 • 13 tweets • 9 min read
#SultanQaboos of #Oman died. The royal family chose Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al-Said to succeed. Who is he? What does it mean? A thread 1/
First, the royal family was quick in agreeing to a successor. This portrays externally a show of unity that is very important in a volatile region and vis-à-vis concerns that neighbors like #SaudiArabia and #UAE would have likes to interfere in the process. #Oman closed ranks. 2/