Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed meets President of Kazakhstan

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed met Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, president of Kazakhstan, in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces welcomed the president to the Presidential Palace with an official reception including the playing of Kazakhstan's national anthem and a 21-gun salute. Mr Tokayev was also welcomed by the Guard of honour and an Emirati folklore group who lined up to greet him.

Mr Tokayev shook hands with senior UAE ministers and officials who came to welcome him, while Sheikh Mohamed welcomed the senior officials accompanying the Kazakhstani President.

The two are set to discuss ways to further co-operation between the UAE and Kazakhstan, as well as regional and international developments.

"I welcome our friend Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on his first visit to UAE after assuming office as President of Kazakhstan," Sheikh Mohamed said on Twitter.

"Our ties are deep-rooted and based on trust, co-operation and mutual respect. Our meeting today represents a renewed opportunity to strengthen our partnership."

The pair witnessed the signing of a number of energy and economic agreements between the two countries. These included co-operation in the petrochemical industry, a bilateral trade agreement and a partnership between the UAE Central Bank and Astana International Financial Centre.

Mr Tokayev was elected president in March last year. In August, Dr Mohammed Al Jaber, the UAE's ambassador to Kazakhstan, met the Kazakh Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov, and extended an invitation from President Sheikh Khalifa to Mr Tokayev to visit the UAE.

Monday's visit to Abu Dhabi is the first for Mr Tokayev. The former Kazakhstani president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, visited the UAE in 2016.

And Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed last visited Kazakhstan in 2011, where he met Mr Nazarbayev.

If you go…

Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.

Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.

Premier League results

Saturday

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 1

Bournemouth 0 Manchester City 1

Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Huddersfield Town 0

Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 3

Manchester United 3 Southampton 2

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Cardiff City 0

West Ham United 2 Newcastle United 0

Sunday

Watford 2 Leicester City 1

Fulham 1 Chelsea 2

Everton 0 Liverpool 0

Kareem Shaheen on Canada

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Five hymns the crowds can join in

Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday

Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir

Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium

‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song

‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar

‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion

‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope

The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’

There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia

The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ

They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening

How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates

Army of the Dead

Director: Zack Snyder

Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera

Three stars

While you're here

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UAE currency

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On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

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Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule

1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele

Polarised public

31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all

Source: YouGov