Hugh Miles is a Middle East analyst, award-winning author, and journalist with over two decades of professional experience in the Arab world. He offers specialized expert witness services for legal proceedings concerning Kuwait, drawing on a deep operational background across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Consultancy & High-Level Advisory

As the founder of the strategic advisory firm Al Shafie Miles, Mr. Miles provides targeted intelligence and risk analysis on Kuwait and neighboring states to blue-chip corporate clients across the defense, finance, legal, and manufacturing sectors. He serves as an expert consultant to multilateral organizations, including the United Nations, having conducted field feasibility studies across North Africa for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and provided consulting services to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

In addition to his international agency work, Mr. Miles regularly delivers training modules to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) on the MENA media landscape and regional organized crime networks. His geopolitical analysis is further integrated into the Global Organized Crime Index—a US State Department and European Union-funded initiative assessing criminality and institutional resilience across UN member states.

Founder of Arab Digest

Mr. Miles is the founder and editor of Arab Digest, a specialized media platform and private members' network dedicated to Middle Eastern and North African affairs. Arab Digest delivers rigorous, confidential analysis on Kuwaiti politics, governance, and regional security to an elite global membership. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) subscribes to Arab Digest, alongside other premier institutions including the UK Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet Office, House of Lords, House of Commons, the United Nations, Barclays, BAE Systems, and leading universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton, and Tufts.

Journalistic Background & Publications

A former Cairo correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, Mr. Miles has reported extensively on Gulf and MENA dynamics for global media outlets, including the BBC, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Independent, and The New York Times. His books on Arab media and contemporary society include Al Jazeera: How Arab TV News Challenged the World and Playing Cards in Cairo. He has also contributed to major political volumes, such as Revolution in the Arab World and National Broadcasting and State Policy in Arab Countries, and co-edited The Future of the Middle East in collaboration with Durham University.

Expert Witness & Legal Authentication Experience

Mr. Miles has been instructed as an expert witness in over 500 legal proceedings, primarily focused on asylum, human rights, political risk, and document authentication. Fluent in Arabic and backed by 20 years of continuous residence and professional engagement in the region, he brings firsthand local knowledge, primary-source linguistic capacity, and objective analytical rigor to complex legal cases involving Kuwait and the broader Arab world.

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