Research & Commentary Results

Gulf Cooperation Council states are investing hundreds of billions in AI infrastructure, data centers, and semiconductor capabilities, making technology central to post-oil economic diversification. Yet this expansion faces a critical constraint: severe water scarcity turns AI growth into a challenge, as data centers in some of the world’s most water-stressed territories strain already overextended hydrological systems. The U.S.-Iran war has also underscored the physical vulnerability of the infrastructure supporting these ambitions. Together, these pressures raise pressing questions about the sustainability and scalability of Gulf states’ AI-driven development strategies.

This summer, brutally hot temperatures, deepening water scarcity, and spiking fertilizer costs have put North Africa’s agricultural sector under intense pressure. Host Alistair Taylor is joined by Mohammed Mahmoud, CEO and founder of the Climate and Water Initiative and lead for Middle East Climate and Water Policy at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health, to unpack the region’s food and water security challenges. Drawing on Mahmoud’s new report card on agricultural sustainability in North Africa, they explore the diverging picture across the region, why some countries have weathered the strain better than others, and what it will take to build a more resilient and secure food system.

When the Strait of Hormuz closed in March, fertilizer prices spiked within weeks, triggering a food security crisis across North Africa and the Sahel. Host Alistair Taylor is joined by MEI Senior Fellow Intissar Fakir to explore what it means for the region, unpack the link between food security and regional stability, and assess how the strait’s reopening could impact those affected.

Africa sits at the center of the clean-energy transition as both a major source of critical minerals and one of the world’s largest under-electrified regions, making it a key arena for geopolitical and industrial competition among China, the United States, Europe, and emerging actors. At the same time, African governments and regional institutions are becoming more assertive, using mineral leverage, regulatory reforms, and continental frameworks to shape investment terms and capture greater domestic value. Recent developments — including the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) offer of state mining assets to U.S. investors and China’s 2026 China-Africa engagement initiative — highlight Africa’s growing role not just as a site of competition, but as an active shaper of it.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has entered a sobering phase. The kingdom’s most ambitious megaprojects, conceived a decade ago during an era of oil-fueled confidence, are colliding with fiscal reality and a far more volatile external environment shaped by regional conflict and energy market disruption. What is unfolding is not the collapse of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) diversification agenda, but a forced recalibration: a shift away from architectural spectacle toward economic pragmatism, reinforced by tightening fiscal space, institutional reprioritization under the Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) new strategy, and growing exposure to regional security risks.

MEI Senior Fellow Mohammed Soliman joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to discuss his new book, West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East. The book argues that it is time for the United States to move decisively away from nation-building and focus instead on order-building, outlining a framework for a new regional order that links Europe to the Indo-Pacific. Soliman also shares how he conceived of the core ideas behind his book and explains why his thesis is especially relevant in today’s geopolitical, economic, and technological landscape.

In this episode, Brian sits down with Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News. Abbas, who reported on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s November 18 visit to the White House, unpacks his impressions from the visit and the opportunities it presents for US-Saudi relations. The conversation also explores the Kingdom’s transformation over the past decade, its relationships with key partners including the United States, and Abbas’s recommendations for deepening the US-Saudi partnership going forward.

During June’s Israel-Iran war, a quieter but significant battle played out in cyberspace, highlighting how Tehran has refined its use of digital tools to shape the battlespace, control domestic narratives, and project influence abroad. While largely ineffective in operational terms, Iran’s cyber response marked a new phase in its strategic evolution.

On June 19, false reports of an Israeli strike on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant sparked alarm across the Gulf. Though denied by Israeli officials, the claim traces back to a warning from Qatar’s prime minister of a potential catastrophe in the event of nuclear contamination — no water, no food, no life — due to the Gulf’s reliance on desalinated seawater. Gulf governments moved quickly to reassure the public that no radiation had been detected, but the episode underscored the region’s growing sense of vulnerability. A regional approach to water security could help to mitigate such risks.

A day before Air Force One touched down in Riyadh to kick off US President Donald Trump’s three-country tour of the Gulf, Saudi Arabia made a pivotal announcement. The kingdom, long synonymous with oil, revealed a major investment in artificial intelligence (AI) through its newly launched company, HumAIn. This pivot, explicitly timed to coincide with Trump’s visit starting on May 13, and in anticipation of the signing of multiple tech deals between US and Gulf firms during the trip, signaled a profound shift in US-Saudi relations — from a traditional oil-for-security alliance to a partnership centered on AI and digital infrastructure.

Sustaining food security in North Africa is a complex and evolving challenge, influenced by the region’s arid climate, limited water resources, and sparse arable land. In response, efforts to enhance food security by governments, farmers, and non-governmental organizations have been centered on adopting climate-resilient agricultural practices, efficient irrigation techniques, and sustainable land-management strategies. Despite these efforts, food security in North Africa remains fragile due to systemic pressures on agricultural systems from climate change, water scarcity, and increasing market demands.

Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj speak with MEI Senior Fellow Mohammed Soliman about President Donald Trump’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, which yielded a wave of major US-Gulf tech and AI deals. Soliman explains how these partnerships mark a shift in the relationship—from oil and arms to compute power and data infrastructure—and what it means for the Gulf’s strategic role in the global AI ecosystem.

As Saudi Arabia accelerates its transformation into a global technology powerhouse, the United States has a pivotal opportunity to redefine its partnership with the kingdom. Moving beyond the traditional oil-for-security framework, a new partnership centered on artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure can anchor US-Saudi relations in the 21st century.​