Pakistan’s Interim Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar has said that the government is tied in chains to the IMF programme and has to implement taxes…writes Hamza Ameer
Protests in Pakistan continue to gain momentum with each passing day as hundreds of thousands of locals burn their electricity bills, rejecting the imposed high tariffs and taxes.
While the situation is fast getting out of control, the Pakistan government has said that its hands are completely tied to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and cannot give any relief without the financial agency’s consent.
Pakistan’s Interim Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar has said that the government is tied in chains to the IMF programme and has to implement taxes, further increase electricity and gas tariffs, push prices of fuel higher and increase the tax base.
“Pakistan is an import-dependent country, and the commodity prices have to be, passed on, as we do not have the fiscal space and any room for subsidies, which is going to hurt people – whether in the shape of electricity of fuel prices”, said Dr Shamshad in her first policy statement after taking office as interim finance minister.
“We will have to further increase in power and fuel prices in relation to higher prices in the global markets and lack of availability of any fiscal space for subsidies. We have no choice but to stick to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme”, she added.
The statement shows the dependency of the current government on the IMF programme and its compulsion to express its helplessness to the people, who are fuming with anger over towering electricity bills, increased fuel prices and imposed taxes.
Pakistanis have been protesting every day in all corners of the country, rejecting the government’s policies and refusing to pay their bills.
“We will not pay our bills. We reject them. We will burn these bills and this government to the ground. They have made it impossible for us to survive anymore under this inflation. There is no work, no businesses, no jobs and the common man is now forced to have suicidal thoughts”, said one of the protestors in Rawalpindi.
“People have started committing suicide. This government wants us to pay them taxes and bills and leave our children and families starving? They enjoy luxuries and free electricity and fuel and press us further into our graves by imposing such taxes and bills and price hikes on us. We will not tolerate this anymore”, said another protestor.
The government has taken note of the fast-worsening situation through public protests and has decided to contact the IMF to brief them about the uproar prevailing among the masses.
“The government will have to find a way out of this situation before it turns into a civil war. Also, with such a massive number of people not paying their bills, the collection of the government will also suffer a major setback, which will also damage the already crippling economy. The IMF will have to understand this and guide Pakistan out of it. Otherwise, the people will take matters into their own hands and the country will fall apart within days”, said Adnan Shauqat, senior political analyst.
With the start of September 2023, the government is lining up for another increase in fuel prices as per its commitment to the IMF. If such an announcement is done, the reaction of the already angry and protesting public may turn more violent as traders, business community and the masses at large have vowed to strongly resist such actions by the government and if needed, bring the country to a standstill until it reverses its increased taxes, increased fuel prices and gives relief on the towering bills.
The festival comes as a continuation of the efforts of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to support heritage preservation projects…reports Asian Lite News
The 17th edition of Al Dhafra Festival is set to take place from 21 October 2023 to 8 February 2024 as part of the camel mazayna season in Abu Dhabi. The event will be held under the organisation of the Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee – Abu Dhabi in cooperation with Emirates Heritage Club.
The festival comes as a continuation of the efforts of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to support heritage preservation projects, promote and develop heritage festivals, enable camel owners to sustain the practice of breeding and caring for camels, and support falconry and purebred Arabian horses contests and other heritage competitions. These efforts have transformed Abu Dhabi into a unique model in the field of heritage festivals organisation.
The festival highlights the role of camels in the culture and heritage of the UAE and the GCC countries through camel mazayna competitions held in Abu Dhabi for purebred breeds in the categories of Asayel, Majahim, Asayel hybrids and Wadh. The upcoming edition will include Sweihan mazayna, Razeen mazayna, Madinat Zayed mazayna and the concluding festival: Al Dhafra Festival.
The 17th edition of Al Dhafra Festival is the largest since its inception in 2008, with organising committee assigning a total of 361 rounds for all the participating camel breeds – an increase of 35 rounds compared to the previous edition.
Al Dhafra Festival aims to unify the standards, terms and conditions, and intensify efforts to achieve success in the mazayna competitions, expand participation of camel owners in the competitions, preserve the purebred camel breeds, boost camel trade, contribute to the development of domestic and Gulf tourism and spur economic activity. The festival also aims to shed light on the region and strengthen the status of Abu Dhabi as the leading destination for camel mazaynas and a regional and global platform for heritage events. It also seeks to highlight and revive the Emirati and Arab heritage through camel beauty competitions, convey UAE’s civilisational and humanitarian message to the world, and promote the values of loyalty and belonging.
The festival will also feature various accompanying heritage competitions and events including falconry competition, camel milking competitions, Arabian horse race, traditional Arabian saluki race, falcon beauty pageant and a Arabian saluki beauty contest. The event will also comprise a shooting competition, Al Naim sheep beauty pageant, date mazayna and packaging competition, sour milk contest, and camel sitting competition, in addition to a traditional market and desert camps, which all reflect the passion of the people of UAE and the Gulf region for such features of their heritage.
Through the organisation of the camel mazayna season and other heritage and cultural festivals and events, the Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee seeks to underscore Abu Dhabi’s prominent standing and its role in enhancing the cultural landscape and heritage of the Arab and Gulf regions. This aspiration comes in line with the committee’s plans to promote culture, preserve Emirati heritage, reinforce its values and pass them onto future generations. It also aims to emphasise the significance of heritage and its substantial impact on people’s advancement and the reinforcement of their cultural identity, all within the broader context of the nation’s progress across various fields.
The Ministry has ceased Nafis payments from nationals proven to have been involved in fake Emiratisation and recovered previous financial support. …reports Asian Lite News
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) revealed that 565 companies were proven to have hired a total 824 UAE nationals in fake Emiratisation jobs since mid-last year, saying it has initiated “the necessary legal and administrative action against them.”
Over 17,000 private establishments employ Emiratis, with the total number of nationals working in the private sector exceeding 81,000, marking the highest number of Emiratisation in the private sector in the country’s history.
“Fake Emiratisation is a clear violation of Emiratisation-related decisions and the regulations of the Nafis programme,” MoHRE said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The efficient tracking by the Ministry’s digital and field monitoring system, which was specifically designed to ensure that private sector establishments are meeting their commitments related to the Emiratisation decisions, has proven these violations.”
MoHRE added, “We are committed to enforcing Emiratisation policies and tracking violations that aim to undermine its objectives. “Legal and administrative procedures have been taken against violating establishments, including degrading their categorisation within MoHRE’s systems, imposing fines ranging from AED20,000 to AED100,000, and potential referral to the Public Prosecution, based on the level of the violation.”
The Ministry has ceased Nafis payments from nationals proven to have been involved in fake Emiratisation and recovered previous financial support. “This move is in accordance with the UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 44 of 2023, which modifies some provisions of the Cabinet Resolution No. 95 of 2022 on penalties and administrative fines related to Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council’s (Nafis) initiatives and programmes,” MoHRE explained.
The Ministry expressed its appreciation for most private sector establishments’ “commitment to the targeted Emiratisation targets,” saying the public-private partnership “strengthens the country’s economic development objectives.”
MoHRE has called on members of the community to report any violations by contacting the call centre at 600590000 or using the Ministry’s smart app and website.
Emiratisation is considered fake when it is confirmed that a UAE national works in a nominal job without real tasks to meet the establishment’s required Emiratisation targets, and/or when an Emirati is rehired in the same establishment with the aim of circumventing data and benefiting from the relevant benefits of Emiratisation.
UAE non-oil foreign trade has hit an all-time high of AED1.239 trillion in first of 2023, according to the new figures released by the Ministry of Economy….reports Asian Lite News
The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade reached a record AED1.239 trillion in H1 2023, representing a growth of 14.4 percent compared to the same period in 2022 – and 3 percent more than H2 2022.
The figures, released by the Ministry of Economy, underline the continued upward trajectory of the nation’s foreign trade, which has achieved quarter-on-quarter growth since 2020.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, stated that the UAE has recorded a new remarkable economic achievement, with non-oil foreign trade recording exceptional growth rates by exceeding AED 1.239 trillion in the first half of 2023.
“The UAE’s non-oil export continues to set unprecedented records as it rose 22 percent with the top 10 global trading partners in 2023. The bilateral trade with Türkiye recorded one of the highest growth rates in the first half of 2023, with 87.4 percent growth compared to the same period in 2022.”
His Highness added that the remarkable achievements of the UAE represents a success in the balanced trading policy under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
His Highness said. “The UAE will remain a major player in international trade, maintaining its position as a bridge linking the East with the West, and the North with the South.”
“The UAE will remain a major player in global trade, maintaining its position as a bridge linking the East with the West, and the North with the South”
Vice President H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
The unprecedented figures are buoyed by record non-oil exports, which reached AED205 billion in H1 2023, an 11.9 percent growth compared to the first half of 2022 and 5.4 percent more than H2 2022. Importantly, non-oil exports in the first six months of 2023 exceed the exports recorded in the whole of 2017. The contribution of non-oil exports to the UAE’s total foreign trade was 16.6 percent in H1 2023, compared to its estimated share of 14.2 percent during the same period in 2019.
Re-exports and imports also recorded significant growth. The total value of UAE’s re-exports reached AED341 billion during the first half of 2023, a 9.9 percent growth on H1 2022, and 2.2 percent compared to the second half of 2022. Imports increased to AED693 billion, up 17.5 percent compared to the first half of 2022 and 2.6 percent more than the second half of 2022.
China has retained its position as the UAE’s leading global trading partner, followed by India, the US and Saudi Arabia. Türkiye, with whom the UAE signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in March, came in fifth place, with Iraq, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, and Russia completing the top 10. Overall, the UAE’s top ten trading partners witnessed a sizeable increase in non-oil trade, with a combined growth of 16.7 percent, while the rest of the markets accounted for 12.4 percent growth.
Among the UAE’s top ten trading partners, Türkiye recorded one of the highest growth rates in the first half of 2023, with 87.4 percent growth compared to the same period in 2022 – and with its share of the UAE’s total non-oil foreign trade increasing to 4 percent.
The UAE’s non-oil exports to its top ten trading partners grew by a total of 22.9 percent. Switzerland headed the top five non-oil export destinations, while Türkiye made a significant leap to second. Saudi Arabia and India occupied the third and fourth positions, respectively, while North Macedonia joined the list for the first time, ranking fifth.
Gold, aluminum, oils, cigarettes, copper wires, jewelry, and aluminum topped the list of the UAE’s most prominent exports. Ahead of oil and cigarettes, gold exports registered the highest growth in H1 2023, up 40.7 percent to reach AED218.3 billion. The contribution of gold exports to the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade was 17.6 percent, compared to 14.3 percent in the corresponding period of 2022.
In a letter sent to Security Council members earlier this month, Mali asked the council to terminate the sanctions regime — travel ban and asset freeze…reports Asian Lite News
Russia has vetoed a Security Council draft resolution that would have renewed the Mali sanctions regime. The draft resolution, tabled by France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), won 13 votes in favour on Wednesday. However, Russia voted against it while China abstained.
A competing draft resolution tabled by Russia failed to win enough votes in favour for its adoption. To be adopted, a Security Council resolution needs nine votes in favour and no veto from any of the five permanent members of the council — the US, France, the UK, Russia and China.
After the vote on the draft resolution tabled by France and the UAE, Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that his country had to cast a veto because the draft did not take into consideration Mali’s concerns and the Russian position.
In a letter sent to Security Council members earlier this month, Mali asked the council to terminate the sanctions regime — travel ban and asset freeze.
Before the vote on the Russian-drafted text, Nebenzia ruled out a return of the sanctions regime if Russia’s draft was not adopted. “So please do heed our words and vote in favour of this (Russian) draft,” he said. “If this is not adopted, then there is no coming back to discussing any further resolution on this matter.”
The US representative said earlier that his country was committed to working with other Security Council members “to achieve a mandate renewal”.
The Security Council established the sanctions regime, targeting individuals and entities engaged in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Mali, in September 2017.
The council had renewed the Mali sanctions regime several times. The mandate for the regime expires on August 31, 2023.
After meeting China’s vice president, Cleverly said the trip, the first by such a senior UK figure in five years, would help avoid “mistrust and errors”…reports Asian Lite News
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has defended talks with Chinese officials in Beijing, telling the BBC it would not be “credible” to disengage.
After meeting China’s vice president, Cleverly said the trip, the first by such a senior UK figure in five years, would help avoid “mistrust and errors”.
But ahead of his visit, some UK MPs attacked the government’s approach to China as “incoherent”. In recent years, UK-China relations have deteriorated.
China is still the UK’s fourth largest trading partner, but concerns over threats to civil liberties in the former British colony of Hong Kong, espionage by China in the UK, and China’s support of Russia during the invasion of Ukraine have led to tensions between the two countries.
Cleverly said his visit was an opportunity to speak “directly and unambiguously” on areas of disagreement and “work together where it is in our mutual interest to do so”.
He said it would allow the UK to “re-establish lines of communication” and added that a lack of face-to-face engagement could lead to “more opportunities for perhaps misinterpretations, mistrust and errors”.
“I’m realistic that one phone call, one visit, one meeting isn’t going to fundamentally change the direction of travel,” he said, but added that “patient, consistent and reliable communication could have an effect”.
“That is why I bring up issues around human rights, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and indeed individual cases every time I have meetings with representatives of the Chinese government.”
Asked about China’s support for Russia in Ukraine, Cleverly said the country had an interest in bringing the war to “a fair and successful conclusion”. “I don’t think it is in China’s interest for there to be a perception they are supporting actively or even passively Putin’s actions.”
Cleverly said the UK wanted to maintain an economic relationship with China, but added: “National security comes first and if there is ever a situation where our security concerns are at odd with our economic concerns, our security concerns win out.”
On Wednesday, Cleverly met China’s Vice President Han Zheng at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and held talks with China’s Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi.
The Foreign Office said during the meetings he raised the case of Jimmy Lai, expressed concern about the treatment of the Uyghur people and urged China to lift sanctions on British MPs.
In recent months both the US’s Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have visited China in efforts to restart communications between the superpowers.
Since the beginning of the year, China has also received visits from leaders of the EU, France, Germany and Spain.
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that China is on a “charm offensive” after backtracking on “a very aggressive approach to foreign affairs” nicknamed wolf warrior diplomacy.
The UK-China relationship has changed dramatically since 2015, when David Cameron’s government hailed a “golden era”.
At the time, then-Chancellor George Osborne said the UK had “cemented its position as China’s best partner in West” and Cameron took Chinese President Xi Jinping for a pint in his local pub.
However, since then, the UK government has criticised China for its treatment of Uyghur Muslims living in the country and in 2021 it banned the Chinese company Huawei from UK’s 5G infrastructure citing security concerns.
In the same year, China banned five MPs – including former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith – accusing them of spreading “lies and disinformation”.
As prime minister, Liz Truss was reportedly planning to re-categorise China as a “threat” to the UK.
Rishi Sunak has resisted calls to go that far but in 2022 he said that the “golden era” of relations with China was over and said attempts to build closer ties had been “naïve”.
At its heart the UK’s recent policy towards China has been based on a changing perception of the balance between the UK’s economic interests and its security concerns.
At times the UK has sought business opportunities in China and Chinese investment in the UK, welcoming Chinese participation in even sensitive sectors such as civil nuclear power stations.
But ties have been strained as China has taken an increasingly authoritarian turn under Xi Jinping’s leadership. The move now, under Sunak’s premiership towards new engagement, may be driven by a pragmatic, business-led policy, but it has come under criticism from some prominent MPs in the Conservative Party who have warned the UK should be moving to reduce the risks associated with allowing China influence in parts of the UK economy.
Speaking in London, Sunak declined to say whether he would have talks with President Xi at the G20 summit in Delhi next month, but said it was “sensible” to discuss areas where there was “common ground” such as climate change, global health and economic stability.
Cleverly’s visit comes as the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee criticised the government’s approach to China in a new report on UK policy in the Indo-Pacific. The report describes the activities of the Chinese Communist Party as “a threat to the UK and its interests”.
It raises concerns that the government’s strategy on China is classified and therefore not available to senior ministers – it says this has led to incoherence and calls for an unclassified version of its China strategy to be published to provide guidance to the public and private sectors.
Al Qassimi highlighted the UAE’s commitment to limiting disparities and fostering stronger south-south cooperation….reports Asian Lite News
Salem bin Khaled Al Qassimi, Minister of Culture and Youth, delivered a speech during his participation in the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Culture, held in Varanasi, India, in which he emphasised the importance of continued collaboration among all parties to harness culture and creativity, as a means of addressing climate challenges.
Shedding light on the UAE’s position on the G20 priorities, Al Qassimi highlighted the UAE’s commitment to limiting disparities and fostering stronger south-south cooperation. He commended the joint efforts of G20 Culture Working Group underscoring the importance of culture in promoting partnership and cooperation between nations, which will be in the spotlight at the upcoming COP28 which the UAE will host at the end of November this year.
Speaking about the gravity of climate change as an issue that impacts all walks of life, the minister said, “Today, across the world, cultural heritage, is in jeopardy because of climate change. Concerning, as historic sites provide a poignant reminder of our unique cultural identities. Without them, that connection risks being slowly eroded over time, also resulting in the damage to the practice and transmission of living heritage from one generation to another.”
Al Qassimi highlighted the UAE’s commitment and efforts in the protection of the heritage of humanity giving the example of its recent partnership with the African World Heritage Fund to support conservation and protection of cultural and natural heritage of Outstanding Universal Value in Africa. This partnership focuses on sites impacted by climate change and capacity building programmes.
He touched upon the role of culture and creativity in shaping purposeful solutions for global challenges and how the UAE harnesses the power of creative institutions to enhance a robust cultural and creative ecosystem in the country. “The UAE National Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries aims to enhance the growth of cultural and creative industries and increase their contribution to 5 percent of the national GDP by 2031,” he stated.
He also highlighted the UAE’s partnership with WIPO to utilise its methodology to measure the economic contribution on the copyright-based industries in the creative economy to accurately measure the creative economy’s performance and contribution to GDP. And mentioned that the newly launched National Grant Programme for Creativity and Culture to empower creatives and SMEs with the opportunities to establish, sustain and grow their skills.
Furthermore, he highlighted the UAE’s partnerships with UNESCO to rebuild the heritage sites of Mosul, Iraq and its key role in the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH), which has funded almost 180 projects to date. Aligned with the priorities of the G20 Presidency, Al Qassimi affirmed the UAE’s significant focus on empowering cultural practitioners.
He underscored the importance of cultural education as a vital tool for ensuring the transmission of culture and heritage across generations and actively equipping learners with the knowledge and skills they require in the present and future.
Concluding his speech, the minister said, “As we approach COP28, taking place in Expo City in Dubai, we look forward to meeting you again to move forward with sentiments shared in the Culture Working Group and take collective action in highlighting the intersection between culture and climate and the role the creative industry plays in climate action.”
There will be approximately 40 plus delegations that will arrive in New Delhi at the leader’s level…reports Asian Lite News
India is planning to showcase its rich culture and diversity during its presidency of G20, through the means of cuisine, crafts, and culture along with an insight into its democratic roots and its progress made in the digital space.
India is all set to host the G20 Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi from September 9-10. World leaders will arrive in New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit.
Muktesh Pardeshi, who is the Special Secretary and the head of operations and logistics of India’s G20 secretariat, said that New Delhi is geared up with its preparations for the summit.
Speaking to ANI, Muktesh Pardeshi said, “We are 10 days away from the event, an event we have been preparing from Day 1. We took over the presidency of G20 on December 1 last year, and since then we have been preparing for this mega event, the Leader’s Summit…G20 comprises 19 countries and the European Union. Plus, we have given special invitations to nine more countries and some international organisations. There will be approximately 40 plus delegations that will arrive at the leader’s level.”
“So, we will have Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and top officials of different delegations, representing different countries. We are gearing up, we are giving final shape to the programme,” he added.
The Special Secretary said that New Delhi has a twin agenda to showcase Indian culture, crafts and cuisine. He added that an experience panel has been created for delegates to experience how UPI payments are made, how the CoWin app was developed and how 1 billion people were connected with Aadhar.
“That’s part of you have seen the G20 meetings focusing on three C’s. But there is one unmistakable aspect of our approach. We are going to showcase progress in the field of the digital sector. So there’ll be an…experience zone created to showcase the progress we have achieved in the field of technological transformation, particularly digital transformation,” he said,
Pardeshi added, “There will be some experience panels created for delegates to experience, for instance how UPI payment is done. People will get to know about biometric enrolment was done and 1 billion people were connected through Aadhar. How the CoWin app was developed. Not everybody is able to understand how India has been able to leapfrog in the sector of digital payment. So we want to showcase the modern face of India as well”.
He also informed that the catering at the Convention Centre is being done by the ITC and there is a lot of focus on cuisine, menu planning as well and service aspects.
“The catering at the Convention Centre is done by the ITC which is a leading hotel chain. They have created a large team comprising of shapes and other associates to not only have the menu ready but also the service experience impeccable. So there’s a lot of focus on both the cuisine, the menu planning as well as the service aspect. And we have selected one of the best hotel chains for the purpose you want them to explore the street food of India,” he said.
Muktesh Pardeshi said that the G20 Summit will have three sessions and all these sessions will be held around the theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. He said that India will hand over the G20 Presidency to Brazil in the concluding session on December 10.
“There’ll be three sessions and all the sessions will be around the theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which in English is transcribed as One Earth, One Family and One Future. The leaders are allocated a certain time to speak about their country’s position. On the 10th, in the concluding session, there’ll be a symbolic handing over of the Presidency to the incoming Presidency which will be led by Brazil. So, in between leaders get some time and opportunity to interact with each other what we call bilateral meetings. So that’s the responsibility of the host country to provide meeting space and provide logistical support so that leaders can meet,” Pardeshi said.
He added, “These leaders will also call on as, depending on the availability of time of honourable Prime Minister. Some of them will also have bilateral meetings with our Prime Minister. So, broadly this is the essence of the program.”
Pardeshi further informed that an exhibition named ‘Bharat, the Mother of Democracy’ is being organised to show the roots of Democracy in India.
“There is another aspect of showcasing India. Not many people know that the democratic roots or democracy is a concept of participatory governance. The roots are here and thousands of years back there were concepts of Sabha and Samiti. So democracy has not come from outside. It has evolved over a period of time in Indian soil. So there is going to be an exhibition called Bharat, the Mother of Democracy,” he further said.
Muktesh Pardeshi
Pardeshi also informed about the ceremonial aspects and said that the leaders will pay respect to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat and a symbolic tree plantation will also take place in Bharat Mandapam.
“There are some ceremonial aspects, and one of them is visiting and paying respect to the Father of the Nation. The leaders will be visiting Rajghat, which is part of the ceremonial aspect. Usually, any visiting head of state or government goes to Rajghat. There will be a symbolic tree plantation event at the Bharat Mandapam. These tree saplings represent different countries. They are either national trees or native trees, or trees that reflect nature or cultural aspects of the country,” he said.
Talking about the arrangements for cultural events and programmes, Muktesh Pardeshi said that a gala dinner will be organised on September 9, which will be accompanied by a small cultural programme.
“On the 9th, there will be a gala dinner, and as part of the gala dinner, there will be a short cultural programme, mostly the musical programme, including young artists. They will play instrumental music before the leaders. But beyond that, we will also have a Craft Bazaar, showcasing crafts from different states, which will take place in hall no. 3. It will open as an exhibition as well as a shopping experience. The delegates will have some opportunity to visit the Craft bazaar, and do shopping,” he said.
The Special Secretary further said that there will also be separate programmes for the spouses accompanying the leaders.
“They will be taken to Rajghat, Pusa Institute, and as part of the programme, they are also likely to visit the National Gallery of Modern Art, where they will see exhibitions, and also have some kind of shopping experience, which is being specially curated for spouses,” he added.
Pardeshi further informed that a variety of different dishes are being prepared to showcase the regional cuisine of the country, and street foods of India, as well as giving exposure to millets.
“From the government of India, it will be offering meals at the Convention Centre. So, you see a variety of dishes being served. Millet will find a prominent place on the menu. The chefs are working to develop different kinds of regional cuisine. They are experimenting and some menus are being developed at some point in time the decision will be taken,” he said.
He added, “But the overall philosophy is that we should have exposure to street foods of India. We should have exposure to millet. And the delegates should also experience different regional cuisines of India. And also our chefs are experimenting with different kinds of grains, different kinds of vegetables and different kinds of dairy products to come up with very innovative dishes…Delhi itself is a leader in street food. What is being served in Chandni Chowk around some of the things, the Gol Gappe or chat”.
Speaking about the logistical challenge of hosting so many delegations and leaders for the summit, Pardeshi said India has gained a sense of organizational excellence over the last 8-10 months.
“So far the parking of aircraft is concerned, we have ample parking place at New Delhi airport. We have been in touch with the Dial and GMR. The arrangements have been made both at the Palam Technical Area and at Indira Gandhi International Airport. So far as taking care of the logistical aspects is concerned we are a big country, we are resourceful and what we have gained over the last 8-10 months is a sense of organizational excellence,” he said.
He further said that as per the directive from the political leadership, New Delhi has to only promote the G20 substantive agenda, but also showcase to the world that India is not behind any country in terms of organizational skills and logistical strengths.
“That was the directive came from the political leadership. We have to excel not only in promoting the G20 substantive agenda, we have to also showcase to the world that India is not behind any country in terms of organizational skills and logistical strengths. And I think it has been now recognized by all visiting delegations. We have done extremely well to offer our hospitality. All the meetings 200 so far have been error-free. There has been no incident,” he said.
He added, “So we expect the forthcoming G20 summit to also be excellent, in terms of no glitches. We would like to conduct the meeting with a very high sense of warmth, and hospitality, taking care of our guests and at the same time showcasing what India has to offer in terms of civilizational and cultural space as well as an India that is technologically advancing and which has the capacity to make as a developed nation in another 25 years”.
Notably, India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country.
The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.
A G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating Leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings. (ANI)
Jais’ release marks a significant milestone in the realm of AI for the Arabic world….reports Asian Lite News
Inception, a G42 company dedicated to pushing the boundaries of AI, announced the open-source release of “Jais”, the world’s highest-quality Arabic Large Language Model. Jais is a 13-billion parameter model trained on a newly developed 395-billion-token Arabic and English dataset.
With a name inspired by UAE’s highest peak, Jais will bring the advantages of generative AI across the Arabic-speaking world. The model results from a collaboration between Inception, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and Cerebras Systems. It was trained on Condor Galaxy; the recently announced multi-exaFLOP AI supercomputer built by G42 and Cerebras.
Jais’ release marks a significant milestone in the realm of AI for the Arabic world. It is a model homegrown in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, offering more than 400 million Arabic speakers the opportunity to harness the potential of generative AI. It will facilitate and expedite innovation, highlighting Abu Dhabi’s leading position as a hub for AI, innovation, culture preservation, and international collaboration.
By open-sourcing Jais, Inception aims to engage the scientific, academic, and developer communities to accelerate the growth of a vibrant Arabic language AI ecosystem. This can serve as a model for other languages currently underrepresented in mainstream AI.
“We believe that innovation thrives when we collaborate,” said Andrew Jackson, CEO of Inception. “With this release, we are setting a new standard for AI advancement in the Middle East and ensuring that the Arabic language, with its depth and heritage, finds its voice within the AI landscape. Jais is a testament to our commitment to excellence and dedication to democratising AI and promoting innovation.”
Jais outperforms existing Arabic models by a sizable margin. It is also competitive with English models of similar size despite being trained on significantly less English data. This exciting result shows that the model’s English component learned from the Arabic data and vice versa, opening a new era in LLM’s development and training.
MBZUAI President and University Professor Eric Xing said,” Developing such a high-calibre Arabic LLM demanded cutting-edge AI research in addition to an in-depth and nuanced understanding of the Arabic language, its diversity and heritage, and the growing importance of LLMs across all echelons of society. Thanks to our research and partnerships with Inception and other top regional and global organisations, MBZUAI will continue pioneering LLMs that are efficient, effective, and accurate.”
Jais is a transformer-based large language model that incorporates many cutting-edge features, including ALiBi position embeddings, which enables the model to extrapolate to much longer inputs, providing better context handling and accuracy. Other state-of-the-art techniques include SwiGLU and maximal update parameterisation to improve the model’s training efficiency and accuracy.
Jais’ training, fine-tuning, and evaluation were undertaken by an Inception/MBZUAI joint team on the Condor Galaxy 1 (CG-1), the recently announced, state-of-the-art AI supercomputer co-developed by G42 and Cerebras Systems. The 13-billion parameter open-source model was trained on a unique and purpose-built dataset of 116 billion Arabic tokens designed to capture Arabic’s complexity, nuance, and richness. It also included 279 billion English word tokens to increase the model’s performance through cross-language transfer. Inception and MBZUAI will continue to expand and refine Jais as its user community grows.
“Our strategic partnership with G42 is already delivering pioneering results. A few weeks ago, we introduced the first multi-exaFLOP AI supercomputer, Condor Galaxy 1 (CG-1). Now, the partnership delivers another key breakthrough: the leading Arabic LLM for the open-source community,” said Andrew Feldman, co-founder and CEO of Cerebras Systems. “At Cerebras, our passion is building groundbreaking technology. One of the great rewards is seeing the innovative ways it is used. Jais is a significant contribution to the international open-source community. It is also a testament to how incredibly easy CG-1 is to use and enables extremely rapid AI model development.”
Jais is available for download on Hugging Face. Users can also try Jais online upon registering interest on Jais’ website and receiving an invite to access the playground environment.
India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 have been organized in 60 cities across the country….reports Asian Lite News
Apart from showcasing its rich culture, varied crafts and diverse cuisine at the G20 summit, India will also display its progress in the digital sector, a senior official said on Wednesday while noting that experience panels will be created for delegates to experience how UPI payments are made and how India has been leading in digital payments.
Muktesh K Pardeshi, Special Secretary, G20 Operations, told ANI in an interview that He also informed that the catering at the Convention Centre is being handled by the ITC and there is a lot of focus on cuisine, menu planning as well and service aspects.
He said not everybody is able to understand how India has been able to leapfrog in the sector of digital payment and delegates will also get to know how the CoWin app was developed and how over a billion people were connected with Aadhar.
“…the G20 meetings focusing on three Cs. But there is one unmistakable aspect of our approach. We are going to showcase progress in the field of the digital sector. So there’ll be an experience zone created to showcase the progress we have achieved in the field of technological transformation, particularly digital transformation,” he said.
“There will be some experience panels created for delegates to experience, for instance how UPI payment is done. People will get to know how biometric enrolment was done and one billion people were connected through Aadhar. How the CoWin app was developed. Not everybody is able to understand how India has been able to leapfrog in the sector of digital payment. So we want to showcase the modern face of India as well.”
G20 Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.
“The catering at the Convention Centre is to be done by the ITC which is a leading hotel chain. They have created a large team comprising of chefs and other associates to not only have the menu ready, but also the service experience should be impeccable. So there’s a lot of focus on both the cuisine, the menu planning as well as the service aspect. And we have selected one of the best hotel chains for the purpose you want them to explore the street food of India,” Pardeshi said.
He said an exhibition named ‘Bharat, the Mother of Democracy’ is being organised to show the roots of democracy in India.
“There is another aspect of showcasing India. Not many people know that the democratic roots or democracy …as a concept of participatory governance. The roots are here and thousands of years back there were concepts of Sabha and Samiti. So democracy has not come from outside. It has evolved over a period of time in Indian soil. So there is going to be an exhibition called Bharat, the Mother of Democracy,” the senior official said.
He said there is ample parking place at New Delhi airport.
“We have been in touch with the Dial and GMR. The arrangements have been made both at the Palam Technical Area and at Indira Gandhi International Airport. So far as taking care of the logistical aspects is concerned we are a big country, we are resourceful and what we have gained over the last 8-10 months is a sense of organizational excellence,” he said.
India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 have been organized in 60 cities across the country.
He referred to directions of political leadership about reflecting the country’s organisational skills.
“We have to excel not only in promoting the G20 substantive agenda, we have to also showcase to the world that India is not behind any country in terms of organizational skills and logistical strengths. And I think it has been now recognized by all visiting delegations. We have done extremely well to offer our hospitality. All the meetings 200 so far have been error-free. There has been no incident,” he said.
“So we expect the forthcoming G20 summit to also be excellent, in terms of no glitches. We would like to conduct the meeting with a very high sense of warmth, and hospitality, taking care of our guests and at the same time showcasing what India has to offer in terms of civilizational and cultural space as well as an India that is technologically advancing and which has the capacity to make as a developed nation in another 25 years,” Pardeshi said.
The Special Secretary further said that there will also be separate programmes for the spouses accompanying the leaders.
“They will be taken to Rajghat, Pusa Institute, and as part of the programme, they are also likely to visit the National Gallery of Modern Art, where they will see exhibitions, and also have some kind of shopping experience, which is being specially curated for spouses,” he added.
Pardeshi further informed that a variety of different dishes are being prepared to showcase the regional cuisine of the country, and street foods of India.
“From the Government of India, it will be offering meals at the Convention Centre. So, you see a variety of dishes being served. Millet will find a prominent place on the menu. The chefs are working to develop different kinds of regional cuisine. They are experimenting and some menus are being developed at some point in time the decision will be taken,” he said.
“But the overall philosophy is that we should have exposure to street foods of India. We should have exposure to millet. And the delegates should also experience different regional cuisines of India. And also our chefs are experimenting with different kinds of grains, different kinds of vegetables and different kinds of dairy products to come up with very innovative dishes…Delhi itself is a leader in street food. What is being served in Chandni Chowk around some of the things the gol gappe or chat”.
The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.
A G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating Leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings. (ANI)
