Hello from The National.
Here are this week’s most compelling and exclusive stories from the UK and Europe.
BIG PICTURE
Reset but no uplift
London this week saw celebrations of the 125th anniversary of its relationship with Kuwait.
One highlight of that partnership came in the 1950s, before the country formally established independence, as an act of Parliament created its sovereign wealth fund in London, something that was a world first.
So when Chatham House launched its preview of British foreign policy after the next election with a discussion on Tuesday, Kuwait's ambassador to London, Bader Alawadi, had some standing to make an important intervention during the hour-long discourse.
The report, Three Foreign Policy Priorities for the Next UK Government, makes the case for "realistic ambitions" to be at the heart of foreign policy after the coming election.
The report made some references to the Middle East, notably how the war in Gaza underlined the costs of ignoring the region.
It also advised future ministers to "shed the embarrassing language of boosterism and acknowledge the realities of the UK’s position as a mid-sized power, if one with an outsized international role".
The report was slight on forward-looking Middle East recommendations – the three priorities are to navigate between the US and China, reset with Europe and bolster UK efforts on the big global issues – and Tuesday's discussion didn't mention the region until the last questions from the floor.
As Mr Alawadi noted, there are many links between the Middle East and the UK to nurture, not least investments but also being part of the same conversation when issues such as Gaza escalate.
Clear policy opportunities and a permissive environment of co-operation are crucially important for Middle East allies. Instead, the impression lingers that these ideals are dropping off the UK radar.
Earlier in the day I listened to Lord Tariq Ahmad, the Middle East minister, give a long briefing to clearly sceptical MPs about the country's role in the region.
He stressed the UK can pick up the phone to contacts to work out the issues of the day across the board.
He also denied the government was divided on the handling of key challenges such as Iran and its use of regional proxies.
One thing Chatham House calls for is a rise in defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP. The government is already committed to a jump to 2.5 per cent.
As part of the fruits of that decision, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the design for new vessels will incorporate lessons from the Houthi attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea.
New vessels, known as Multi-Role Support Ships, will be designed to strengthen the Royal Marines in roles close to shore.
They will be designed to carry a “broad range” of drones along with vehicles, aircraft and stealth combat craft.
The vessels – to be built in Britain – will be fitted with the DragonFire laser, a directed-energy weapon that will be installed on Royal Navy warships from 2027.
The technology, which it is claimed has the accuracy to hit a coin from 1km away, is designed to shoot down drones and missiles at a cost of £10 ($12.50) a shot.
For more global news that matters to you, join our Telegram channel.
Future fuels
What is the “fifth wave” of cleaner energy? Our reporter Tim Stickings travelled to Rotterdam to the World Hydrogen Summit to hear that Middle East and North African countries have emerged as key players in the “future fuel”.
Hydrogen is tipped to replace fossil fuels in sectors such as aviation, shipping and heavy industry, but is little used today, partly because it is expensive.
That picture is changing. Abu Dhabi clean energy company Masdar is hoping to beat a 2030 green hydrogen target in a boom fuelled by new technology and the race to cut emissions.
Faye Al Hersh, Masdar’s head of business development for green hydrogen in the UAE, said hydrogen will be in demand as the “only option” for some industries to replace fossil fuels.
Dr Al Hersh said Masdar expects the cost of the alternative fuel to fall from its expensive levels today, as the company aims for a million tonnes of production capacity by 2030.
The target is “definitely one that we aim to meet and to exceed”, she said.
The UAE, and several other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, are positioning themselves as future hydrogen sellers to Europe and the world market.
Dunking diamonds
If nothing else, the London stock market has been synonymous with mining shares, but it is a sign of the times that diamonds are set for a fall from the main bourse.
The global diamond trade is fracturing under the weight of Russian sanctions, as the fate of Antwerp as the physical home of the gems trade is showing.
Other world centres are looking to press their own advantages.
Another long-term trend is the death of the romance of the capital markets in the UK financing those who extract the precious stones.
One of the London market's mining mainstays, Anglo American, announced a plan to break up, separating its diversified mining assets in a move that could result in yet another delisting from the London Stock Exchange.
Keith Bowman at Interactive Investor told The National Anglo American has "been talking to luxury houses such as LVMH and Gulf sovereign-wealth funds" about buying its stake in De Beers, even before this week's announcements it was jettisoning the 150-year-old business.
However, there will be some debate over the valuation and final price tag that De Beers could eventually command.
The searching question the market is now asking is that if Anglo American has been looking to offload De Beers for some time, why hasn't it already been sold?
AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth notes that, in essence, there's been a "for sale" sign outside De Beers for some years and that Anglo American "might have lapped up an opportunistic bid for the group" if one had emerged.
As such, the new strategy De Beers is scheduled to reveal at the end of the month could contain plans for a stock market flotation.
Anglo American recently wrote down its book value by $1.6 billion to $7.6 billion, a sparkling price tag that could attract much interest.
 |
UK universities lure UAE residents
Record numbers of UAE residents are applying to UK universities, with latest figures showing more than 8,000 are studying in British institutions – almost twice as many as five years ago.
There were 8,085 UAE students studying PhD, postgraduate and undergraduate courses in the UK in 2022 – up from 4,715 in 2017, data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) reveals.
The true figure is expected to be far higher, as the UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) has already received 3,690 applications from UAE students for undergraduate courses starting in September this year.
Undergraduate applications to Ucas from the UAE have risen 63 per cent from 2,260 in January 2020. Last year it received 3,570 applications.
Other Middle East countries have also seen an increase, with undergraduate applications from students in Turkey rising to 2,600 this year compared to 1,890 last year.
Applications from Saudi Arabia rose to 1,880 this year compared to 1,720 last year, and Jordan saw an increase to 580, compared with 520.
Hesa said the universities of Leeds, London and Manchester are the most popular with UAE students, while University College London has the country’s oldest Emirati student society.
OTHER STORIES THIS WEEK
| Bow to Burnham: The UK’s mayors are on the up | |
| Is Europe finally coming around to the idea of a Palestinian state? | |
| Recognising Palestine cannot wait, says Slovenian Foreign Minister |
