The UAE is working towards signing 26 comprehensive economic partnership agreements (Cepas) as it seeks to attract more investments and diversify its economy, said Abdulla bin Touq, UAE Minister of Economy.
“We have already signed Cepas with India, Indonesia and Israel. We are signing the agreement with Turkey, Cambodia, Georgia and Vietnam. We are going east and south-south”, he said, at the investment conference Investopia in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
“We want to open the world for businesses to think about what kind of trade they want to do, both in products and services,” Mr bin Touq, who is also chairman of Investopia, said.
Investopia was launched by the UAE in 2021 and this year is being organised under the theme “Envisioning opportunities in times of change”, in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.
It is an event within the first set of the Projects of the 50 developmental and economic initiative announced by the government in 2021 to accelerate the nation’s growth over the next five decades.
It is the first platform that unifies national investment opportunities and development projects from all emirates in line with the initiative.
The summit’s inaugural event took place in March last year along with the World Government Summit in Dubai.
The UAE, the Arab world’s second-biggest economy, is exploring future investment opportunities. This comes after the Covid-19 pandemic transformed economies, paved the way for new sectors, hastened the use of advanced technology and raised the need for sustainable growth.
It has announced a number of new initiatives to promote economic growth and attract foreign direct investment.
“The 100 per cent business ownership law for mainland companies has resulted in 300,000 new businesses and circulated the economy in a better way. We recorded Dh2.2 trillion ($599 billion) worth of trade, a record for the UAE,” Mr bin Touq said.
“We have seen talent come in because of the Golden Visa, Green Visa and the freelancer visa initiatives. The fuel for an economy is talent. New resources and capital are the most important aspects for economic growth.”
The fuel for an economy is talent. New resources and capital are the most important aspects for economic growth
Abdulla bin Touq,
UAE Minister of Economy and chairman of Investopia
The minister also stressed the importance of multilateralism in the current geopolitical and economic scenario.
“Multilateralism and international organisations were created in times of change and conflict. Now, we see changes in six months”, he said.
“We are hosting Cop28, the Year of Sustainability and having conversations on climate change. We might have conflicts in other areas, but we all come together on this topic.”
The UAE is also hosting events such as the World Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi in October this year and the World Trade Organisation’s 13th Ministerial Conference in the first quarter of 2024, the minister said.
Meanwhile, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, managing director and group chief executive of Mubadala Investment Company, emphasised the importance of collaboration, disruptive innovation and talent attraction during challenging times.
“Today, a lack of collective action to address global challenges is perhaps the most significant threat to humanity. Standing still is not an option. This is why the UAE, a nation at the crossroads between East and West, is relentlessly focused on fostering co-operation and solving problems in an increasingly multi-polar world.
“It is why we’re well on our way to supercharge economic growth,” he said, pointing to plans to double the country’s gross domestic product over the next 10 years, underpinned by investment opportunities.
“We continually work together to strengthen our world position as a destination of choice for entrepreneurs, innovators and investors.”
The UAE’s mission to Mars, the signing of the Abraham Accords, trade deals and investment partnerships are recent examples of how the UAE is “driving progress in complex times”, he said.
Mr Khaldoon said that collaboration is vital, a point driven home by the Covid-19 pandemic, in terms of responding to health crises, maintaining global financial stability and responding to the climate change emergency.
A focus on disruption can accelerate finding solutions to the world’s most pressing problems, he said.
“Our focus on disruptive innovation is shaping our future economic base and creating solutions that others can benefit from”, Mr Khaldoon said.
The UAE has embraced disruption with its investments in sectors including renewable energy, artificial intelligence, finance, tourism, health care and life sciences.
Mr Khaldoon added that the “resilience of the business community, investors’ resourcefulness and the government’s innovative approach here in the UAE gives me great optimism”.
The UAE ranked 19th globally in attracting foreign direct investment worth $20.7 billion in 2021, the Ministry of Economy reported.
Investopia aims to increase FDI flows to the UAE’s new and future sectors to Dh550 billion by 2030 and to Dh1 trillion by 2051.
WHAT FANS WILL LOVE ABOUT RUSSIA
FANS WILL LOVE
Uber is ridiculously cheap and, as Diego Saez discovered, mush safer. A 45-minute taxi from Pulova airport to Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospect can cost as little as 500 roubles (Dh30).
FANS WILL LOATHE
Uber policy in Russia is that they can start the fare as soon as they arrive at the pick-up point — and oftentimes they start it even before arriving, or worse never arrive yet charge you anyway.
FANS WILL LOVE
It’s amazing how active Russians are on social media and your accounts will surge should you post while in the country. Throw in a few Cyrillic hashtags and watch your account numbers rocket.
FANS WILL LOATHE
With cold soups, bland dumplings and dried fish, Russian cuisine is not to everybody’s tastebuds. Fortunately, there are plenty Georgian restaurants to choose from, which are both excellent and economical.
FANS WILL LOVE
The World Cup will take place during St Petersburg's White Nights Festival, which means perpetual daylight in a city that genuinely never sleeps. (Think toddlers walking the streets with their grandmothers at 4am.)
FANS WILL LOATHE
The walk from Krestovsky Ostrov metro station to Saint Petersburg Arena on a rainy day makes you wonder why some of the $1.7 billion was not spent on a weather-protected walkway.
MATCH INFO
Maratha Arabians 107-8 (10 ovs)
Lyth 21, Lynn 20, McClenaghan 20 no
Qalandars 60-4 (10 ovs)
Malan 32 no, McClenaghan 2-9
Maratha Arabians win by 47 runs
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%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
