DUBAI // New talks on antipiracy initiatives are under way as Nato prepares to leave the Arabian Gulf next year.
Although piracy incidents have sharply declined, the organisation has said that it must engage in more regional capacity building to tackle the issue.
“We are effectively treating the symptoms of the disease,” said Michel Soula, the head of operations for Nato. “The next step involves attacking the root causes.”
So far, Nato has trained coastguard personnel and offered ship protection advice through Operation Ocean Shield. But it plans to do more.
“This age of austerity means we need to be bolder and more creative than ever in terms of leveraging partnerships and external funding,” Mr Soula said. “For instance, pursuing a partnership with the UN office on drugs and crime is just one possibility.”
He was speaking in Dubai last week at a conference on Nato and its approach to Arabian Gulf cooperation.
Mr Soula said the UAE was playing a key counter-piracy role off the Horn of Africa.
“The UAE has kept an impressive bilateral programme of aid,” he said. “Recognising that Somali stability is the centre of gravity in regional capacity-building efforts, Emirati assistance to Mogadishu has grown significantly. More than US$50 million (Dh183m) has been pledged to Somalia by the UAE so far this year alone, much of it targeted at education, renewable energy projects and other developmental assistance.
“This is the sort of action that will make a real difference in eradicating the root causes of piracy on shore.”
In 2009, there were 45 pirate hijackings off the coast of Somalia. In 2011, there were 24. Last year, there were eight and since last May, there have been none.
“Currently, no merchant ships are held hostage and there are a total of 50 hostages on land,” Mr Soula said.
Nato will have three options to choose from post-2014: to leave, stay as it is today, or stay in a different, more flexible way, which includes occasional regional patrols.
“So far, within Nato, there would appear to be a general consensus that some continued presence is needed,” he said. “The shape of this involvement is currently under discussion.
“A focused Indian Ocean presence, which would provide recurrent deterrence during piracy high season, may be the solution in that it would keep some visibility while diminishing the costs of the operation.”
But more help will be needed on different fronts.
“The UN, the EU, civil society and private industry all have scope and multiple tools for developing their regional capacity-building roles,” he said.
“The situation in Somalia is such that Somali actors and institutions are not always willing or able to pull their own weight.
“The security situation remains all too volatile, with destabilising consequences for the region. Last month’s atrocity in Kenya was a painful reminder of this reality. But the counter-piracy domain is one where international collaboration has proven absolutely essential to success.”
Countries in the region have expressed their will for Nato operations to continue.
“A lot is being done in piracy and the continuation of this project is vital for economies in the region,” said Vural Altay, the Turkish ambassador to the UAE. “Twenty per cent of Turkey’s foreign trade is carried through the region so the continuation of this project is vital for my country, too.”
Mr Soula said he had high hopes for a future without piracy.
“The success story of counter-piracy was built on foundations of cooperation,” he said.
“The real challenge remains addressing the root causes of piracy on shore, and that regional capacity building is key in this regard.
“What has yet to be seen is what Nato’s counter-piracy role will be on January 1, 2015, but through the Arab task force and through capacity building, we could produce more results and more cooperation would be welcome.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
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Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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.
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Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
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Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
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UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
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Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
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Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages
Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”
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