UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash said on Thursday that “practical measures” could be introduced to restore travel and trade links with Qatar within a week.
He said "we expect to move very quickly on other issues", including the reopening of embassies and consulates.
The UAE and fellow GCC countries Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, along with Egypt, cut ties with Doha in 2017.
“The UAE is behind this deal, positive about re-establishing relations with Qatar within the GCC context. We want to do this faster rather than slower," Dr Gargash said.
A declaration signed during the 41st GCC summit in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday was described by Dr Gargash as a strategic document.
Dr Gargash said there was now a new chapter in relations and he would want to “bring back momentum in the GCC sails”.
That momentum is expected to be largely based on economic collaboration and investment.
He said that despite some differences in approach, “there is an overall agreement on issues of security and stability”.
Dr Gargash said Gulf countries appreciated the role of the US in helping to resolve the situation.
US president-elect Joe Biden and his team were not involved in talks, but Dr Gargash said “a lot of the foreign policy team of the Biden administration know the region very well, we know their views”.
When asked about a Turkish military presence in Qatar, Dr Gargash said: “Our view on the Turkish presence is similar to our view of the Iranian presence in the Arab world … we want to see Turkey as a partner to all and as a country that respects Arab sovereignty and Arab interests in general.
"We want to see a relationship with Turkey on par, of non-interference, on mutually beneficial things.”
He said that was "a collective view within most Arab countries".
Dr Gargash also said the UAE's outlook towards regional crises in general was one of diplomatic solutions.
Turning to the issue of the Iran crisis, he said it was important to reduce tensions.
"We recognise that we have serious issues with Iran, but they need to be dealt with through de-escalation, through diplomacy and politics," he said.
There is no question that rebuilding ties and confidence will not be easy, Dr Gargash said.
“We recognise that any crisis will leave its repercussions and dealing with repercussions will take some time," he said.
"Every crisis has to come to an end. I am glad this one is coming to an end. But any resolution will really depend on transparency and a constructive approach to move forward."
Dr Gargash explained how the UAE mustered a world-leading response to the Covid-19 crisis, being one of the first countries to realise the importance of mass testing, tracking and tracing.
"Covid was a very difficult challenge towards our capacity as a state and I think we are doing very well, in terms of tackling it in the early stages, choosing testing and scientific methods as our guideline", he said.
"We have been one of the more successful countries globally. And I see today in terms of per capita, we are just behind Israel in terms of vaccination. Our intention is to surpass Israel in terms of the percentage of the population vaccinated."
Speaking of the long-term success of the GCC as an international political and trading bloc, Dr Gargash was hopeful it would return to playing a strong role on the world stage.
"The GCC has been one of the most successful Arab regional groupings. So I expect on the diplomatic front it will go back to its vitality," he said.
"On the security and political front, there will be a variance of views, which has been the history of the GCC since 1981. I expect that on the common market front, on the investment front, there will be full winds blowing into that sail."
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')
