Just rereading Elphalba's response....western standards of friendliness can be "too friendly" for the Gulf. Best to err on the side of caution and be pleasantly polite-not too smiley or chatty. It's always good to ask after one's family in general terms (that is if you've met before ). We're not talking prolonged conversations or anything...just, "Hello Mr. Al Thani. How are you? And you're family?" This sort of question is missing from western business practices, but it's quite common among Arab businesses.