Team

Ahmed
Helal

Director
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Ahmed leads GC's MENA practice. Ahmed has spent his career working between government and political analysis. He has had roles in the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy and Commerce in Doha. In recent years he has worked in the US and produced regular commentary on economic issues, sustainability and wider regulatory issues.

At GC he assists clients seeking to understand political and policy trends impacting on international investors seeking to deploy capital in the Gulf and local entities looking to develop their commercial footprint.
 

Latest Insights by Ahmed Helal

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The Russia-Ukraine war threatens the MENA’s food security

General Policy

As the world’s largest grain-importing region in the world, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has felt acutely the impact of the Ukraine conflict’s disruption to global food production and exports. The MENA is an agro-ecologically diverse region, ranging from the Gulf, where there are no permanent rivers or lakes and minimal rainfall, to Egypt and Iraq, where river…

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Qatar and the future of European energy security

General Policy

Commenting on Europe’s gas crisis, the prime minister of Belgium recently said that Europe would face “terrible winters” for the next five to ten years. The warning by the Belgian premier is echoed by the chief executive of Shell, Europe’s largest oil and gas company, who has said that Europe may need to ration access to energy for several years as it weans itself off…

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Caught in the crosshairs: The Middle East and the US-China Cold War

General Policy

On January 10th, the foreign ministers of four Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait, concluded a first-of-its-kind Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) visit to China to consolidate ties with Beijing. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted his Gulf counterparts in the city of Wuxi in eastern China and subsequently hosted the foreign ministers of Turkey and…

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