• Saudi Arabia: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Riyadh today on an official visit, and was received at King Khalid International Airport by the Deputy Emir of the Riyadh Region, Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, and a number of officials, ahead of meeting Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss bilateral topics and sign agreements in various sectors — and the rapprochement between Riyadh and Damascus is redrawing regional balances that are directly connected to the Sudan file and to Red Sea security, and is followed by Sudanese in the Kingdom, their largest community in the Gulf. (Source: Saudi Press Agency — SPA) • Saudi Arabia and labour: the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced that it had taken regulatory measures against 67 recruitment offices during the third quarter of 2026, with the activity of 66 of them stopped immediately and the licence of one office withdrawn for failing to correct violations within the specified deadline — and regulating the recruitment market protects the rights of expatriate workers, foremost among them Sudanese seeking regular job opportunities in the Kingdom, from violating offices. (Source: Saudi Press Agency — SPA) • Saudi Arabia and ALECSO: the Kingdom concludes its presidency of the General Conference of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization “ALECSO” in its 28th session and its presidency of its Executive Council, during the meetings of the 125th session from 9 to 12 November in Muscat, where it hands the presidency to the Sultanate of Oman — and the files of common Arab education and culture concern thousands of Sudanese students and teachers residing in the Gulf states and their community schools. (Source: Saudi Press Agency — SPA) • Qatar: the Cabinet, in its meeting today at the Amiri Diwan chaired by the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, renewed Qatar's strong condemnation and denunciation of the attack that targeted the liquefied natural gas tanker “Al Mayeda”, belonging to the Qatar Gas Transport Company “Nakilat”, while it was sailing in the Arabian Gulf, considering it a dangerous act that threatens the safety of maritime navigation and the security of global energy supplies — and the security of navigation and energy supplies in the Gulf determines the prices of fuel and food that reach Sudan and preserves the safety of Sudanese working in the energy and shipping sectors in Qatar. (Source: Qatar News Agency — QNA) • Qatar, diplomacy: the Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, held a phone call today with the Chinese government's envoy for Middle East affairs, Zhai Jun, in which they reviewed bilateral cooperation and regional developments, and Al-Khulaifi affirmed Qatar's support for all diplomatic efforts aimed at a solution that guarantees freedom of maritime navigation and paves the way for a comprehensive agreement that achieves sustainable peace in the region — and the success of regional de-escalation tracks is reflected in stability for the Red Sea states, including Sudan, and the movement of its ports and trade. (Source: Qatar News Agency — QNA) • The UAE: the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference “ADIPEC 2026” continues its work in Abu Dhabi, and participating officials affirmed that the event strengthens partnerships between the industry and energy sectors and turns companies' needs into manufacturing and investment opportunities, in parallel with developing safety and risk management systems to protect workers and ensure business continuity — and the energy and industry sectors in the UAE are among the largest employers of Sudanese competencies, and the safety of workers in them concerns them directly. (Source: Emirates News Agency — WAM) • The UAE, economy: an S&P Global survey showed that the purchasing managers' index for the non-oil private sector in the UAE reached 54.8 points in October, from 55.3 in September, with new orders accelerating, while selling prices rose at the fastest pace in the survey's history and input cost inflation reached its highest level since June 2022, driven by fuel, energy and shipping prices — and the rise in the cost of living and shipping puts pressure on Sudanese residing in the UAE and on the value of what they remit to their families. (Source: Reuters) • Kuwait: the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development signed a loan agreement today with the Government of the Maldives worth three million Kuwaiti dinars, about ten million dollars, to contribute to financing the construction of a new hospital on the island of Thaa Veymandoo, serving its residents and the neighbouring islands and improving the quality of medical services — and the Kuwaiti developmental role extended through the Fund is a model that Sudanese look to for the reconstruction phase, while thousands of them work in the Kuwaiti market, whose activity is linked to their remittances. (Source: Kuwait News Agency — KUNA) • Oman: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, agreed to elevate relations between the two countries to a strategic partnership, in a joint statement on the occasion of the state visit that the Sultan of Oman made to Brunei from 2 to 4 November, the first of its kind since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1984 — and Muscat's expansion of its partnerships in energy and food security opens wider economic channels in the region, followed by Sudanese seeking job and trade opportunities in Gulf and Asian markets. (Source: Oman News Agency) • Oil and markets: oil prices fluctuated in today's session, as Brent crude rose 0.8 per cent to 104.42 dollars per barrel by 05:10 GMT and West Texas Intermediate 0.5 per cent to 96.59 dollars, with investors awaiting Washington's next step in the war with Iran after the Democrats won a majority in the US Congress, while data from the American Petroleum Institute showed crude inventories falling by 5.27 million barrels in the week ending 30 October, contrary to the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters for an increase of about 880,000 barrels, and Gulf markets ended their trading with a collective rise led by the Dubai index, up by about 4 per cent — and the volatility of energy and markets determines the cost of shipping and food and the value of the remittances of Sudanese in the Gulf to their families. (Sources: Reuters, and Gulf bourses)
— Editorial Team
