Abdullah is a graduate in business studies and international relations. He holds a Master in Business Administration (MBA), a Master in International Relations (MA) and a Doctorate in International Political Economy (PhD) from the University of Cambridge. Abdullah has a general interest in international relations and the international political economy, particularly in the subject area of regionalism and globalization. Specifically, his academic interest focuses on the in the Gulf States’ economic, political, security and social development and their external relations. He has participated in numerous international conferences, workshops and seminars and has several publications to his credit. He is a member of a number of academic and research institutions as well as business organizations, professional bodies and committees. Abdullah has held several positions in business and academia and his last post was the Director of the Gulf Research Centre -Cambridge at the University of Cambridge.