Insight and opinion from The National’s editorial leadership
July 20, 2023
Although they can sometimes look it, official presidential and prime ministerial visits are never really breezy affairs. They are usually preceded by a flurry of correspondence, pre-negotiations, negotiations and choreography by the visiting and host countries’ diplomatic corps. The visit itself often draws attention not just locally but from around the world, every tea leaf carefully studied by journalists, analysts, businesspeople, and foreign diplomats. Everyone wants to know, when it’s wheels-up and the ink is dry, what deals were signed, what they’re worth and what they mean.
Just one of these visits would be a big enough deal on its own. This week, the UAE hosted three, by the leaders of India, Japan and Turkey in that order. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on Saturday was short but sweet; he spent just a day in Abu Dhabi, but used the time to oversee the signing of agreements to ease UAE-India cross-border transactions. The arrangement, which will make it easier for such transactions to happen in local currencies, will be a boon not only to the business community – the UAE has become a favourite investment destination for Indian capital – but also for those sending remittances. UAE-to-India remittance flows are the second largest in the world, after payments from the US to Mexico.
On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida touched down in the UAE as part of a tour of Gulf capitals. In Abu Dhabi, he witnessed the signing of 23 agreements and memorandums of understanding, which covered a range of fields critical to the economic futures of both countries: areas like AI, space, transportation, and the circular economy. Mr Kishida and President Sheikh Mohamed also discussed the interests of the UAE and Japan, both currently members of the UN Security Council, in supporting peace, stability, co-operation and dialogue.
Everyone wants to know, when it’s wheels-up and the ink is dry, what deals were signed
Like Mr Kishida, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the UAE in the context of a larger Gulf tour, in which he has discussed defence and investment deals with Ankara’s regional allies. The goal, Mr Erdogan said in advance of the trip, was “to increase all kinds of relations” between Turkey and the Gulf.
It is easy to see why. As this week’s round of visits shows, Asia’s economy is in the ascendancy, and the UAE and its Gulf neighbours are at the heart of the continent’s prosperity engine. According to the International Monetary Fund, Asia is expected to drive most of the world’s economic growth this year. China and India together will contribute about half of the world’s growth, and the Middle East is expected to contribute 7.8 per cent, which is more than Europe. Asia’s developing economies are expected to be the GCC’s largest trading partner in five years’ time, according to London-based think tank Asia House.
The growing connectivity between the Gulf and the rest of Asia – which extends from economic links to increasing security co-operation – is symptomatic of a broader phenomenon that has been taking shape for years: the centre of gravity in the global economy is shifting eastwards. For those preparing to ride the wave of the so-called “Asian century”, it will come as little surprise that the Gulf is a hub of action.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
£10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
£100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
£250m to train new AI models
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
