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India Cements Ties With Gulf; UAE Focuses On Export Strategies For ‘Designing the Next 50’; ‘Switch to Impact-Based Forecasting’; Oli Facing Heat From Own Party Over Chinese Encroachment; Border Talks End in Deadlock; Slight Delay Expected For India’s Human Space Flight – All in Asian Lite Daily Digital, October 14, 2020 – please click here to read.
The G-20 Leaders’ Summit will take place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, from 21 to 22 November, under the chairmanship of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia…Reports Asian Lite News
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, presided over the third Group of 20 (G-20) Steering Committee Meeting to review the UAE’s approach for the remainder of the 2020 G-20 Process as a guest invitee at the G-20 Leaders’ Summit.
The G-20 Leaders’ Summit will take place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, from 21 to 22 November, under the chairmanship of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In his remarks to the Steering Committee, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed extended thanks to the ministries and the relevant entities which have contributed to the success of the UAE’s participation in the G-20, whether by representing the UAE in meetings and events, or providing proposals and information aimed at enhancing the country’s benefit from this participation.
.The meeting discussed the work of the UAE across both the Sherpa and Finance Tracks to date, initial preparations for the G-20 Summit, and ways in which the UAE could stay engaged with the G-20 Process following the Summit.
Obaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, stated that the Ministry of Finance participated in 46 meetings held under the G-20 Finance Track during the G-20 Presidency of Saudi Arabia. The minister added, “We will double down on our efforts during the remaining G20 meetings to position the key points that will best showcase the UAE’s capabilities and value added of our participation in the best way.”
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Dubai recorded AED551 billion worth of non-oil external trade in the first half of 2020. The emirate’s ability to minimise the impact of the pandemic-induced global economic slowdown on its trading sector reflects its exceptional logistics infrastructure, which enabled it to maintain uninterrupted trade flows and a streamlined supply chain.
Imports accounted for AED320 billion, exports AED77 billion, and re-exports AED 154 billion. A total volume of 44 million tonnes of goods were traded through Dubai including 30 million tonnes of imports, 8 million tonnes of exports and 6 million tonnes of re-exports.
Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman & CEO and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, said the emirate’s external trade sector is capable of overcoming the strong headwinds facing global trade thanks to the depth, resilience, diversity and flexibility of the Dubai economy.
“External trade is one of the key pillars of our economy. We are today reaping the fruits of the vision of our country’s founding leaders and our strong strategic planning, backed by decades of hard work in creating a robust trading and logistics infrastructure.
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Dubai’s external trade sector has shown a high level of preparedness in dealing with the crisis. It has provided exceptional trading facilities and services to help businesses around the world overcome the challenges of the current period,” he said.
Dubai’s external trade showed considerable growth in May and June compared to April 2020, a period in which widespread lockdowns were enforced across the globe to combat the pandemic. Dubai’s external trade grew in May compared to April by 17.2 percent to reach AED75 billion, and again grew 20 percent in June compared to May to reach AED90 billion.
The latest external trade figures for H1 2020 show strong integration between different modes of shipping: land, sea and air. Airborne trade accounted for AED250 billion, accounting for 45 percent of total trade. Sea trade reached AED212 billion (39 percent), while land trade touched AED89 billion (16 percent).
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Direct trade totalled AED320 billion, representing 58 percent of Dubai’s external trade, while trade through free zones reached AED227 billion (41 percent), and customs warehouse trade weighed in at AED4 billion (1 percent).
China maintained its position as Dubai’s largest trading partner in H1 2020 with AED66.4 billion worth of trade. India came in second with AED38.5 billion, followed by the USA in third place with AED31.7 billion, and Switzerland with AED24.3 billion. Saudi Arabia continued to be Dubai’s largest Gulf and Arab trade partner and its fifth largest global trade partner with AED24.1 billion worth of trade.
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Khalifa University of Science and Technology has announced the successful development of a fully ‘biodegradable’, ‘biocompatible’, environment-friendly and novel anti-viral adaptive face mask with nanofibers that will have strong anti-microbial properties.
The researchers, who have made the first working prototypes of NavaMASK, have already filed for a patent license for the mask’s bio-material.
NavaMASK will offer excellent breathability with strong anti-microbial properties and can be washed and reused several times prior to eventual disposal. In addition, the mask is a great candidate for safe disposal to the environment because of its biodegradability and biocompatibility.
The project was the fruit of collaboration between Khalifa University and University of Salerno, Italy.
Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, said: “The innovation of biodegradable NavaMask reflects not only Khalifa University’s continuous commitment to finding solutions that directly contribute to serving the society, but also the result of the University’s funding of 14 research projects directly related to mitigating the pandemic.”
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“This innovation reaffirms our research efforts to develop areas that focus on issues related to the community in general, especially those that help find a solution to COVID-19. Research initiatives at Khalifa University are directed by prominent faculty experts, with the help of state-of-the-art labs and advanced on-campus facilities,” he added.
Prof. Vincenzo Loia, Rector, University of Salerno, Italy, said: “The University of Salerno has a consolidated experience in interdisciplinary research at an international level. The quality of our international research and its ability to serve the real needs of the society, yearly reconfirm the accreditation of the University of Salerno in prestigious academic rankings.
NavaMask is an additional effective example of a research idea that was born in a laboratory capable to support accurately and promptly the big challenge associate to the complex period we are experiencing, combining innovation and environmental sustainability.”
The face mask will have perpendicularly arranged nanofibers with a diameter ranging between 100 and 600 nm to pass air through but reject particles, bacteria, and viruses. Its strong anti-microbial properties will ensure 99 percent removal efficiency of bacteria, thus NavaMASK is expected to compete and outperform many of the existing facemasks in the market.
The Khalifa University researchers are currently planning to start Phase II, which will aim to introduce a new second-generation design for the NavaMASK and maintain high removal efficiency, high comfortability, easier breathing, and fewer layers. Most importantly, it will reflect the UAE’s efforts in advancing the field of innovation.
The Index assesses how 122 countries are positioned for recovery, based on their overall health resilience, and the pre-existing structural strengths and weaknesses at the core of their recovery capacity..Reports Asian Lite News.
The United Arab Emirates is leading the Arab region in the COVID Economic Recovery Index Ranking issued by the Horizon Research Group.
The Index assesses how 122 countries are positioned for recovery, based on their overall health resilience, and the pre-existing structural strengths and weaknesses at the core of their recovery capacity.
Thanks to its long-term economic agility, robust, adaptive institutional system, and high literacy rate, the UAE occupies prominent places among advanced countries assessed by the Group in terms of health resilience, highly educated workforce, low debt levels, governance & social capital, and digital economy, where it comes 5th, 15th, 17th, 19th and 21st respectively.
“While they may have been deeply affected initially, countries…. including the United Arab Emirates, Luxemburg, Singapore, Israel, Malta, or Ireland, display stronger economic resilience, which will support recovery.
These countries are mostly relatively small, open economies, highly dependent on international trade and/or flows of capital, and on sectors that are vulnerable to COVID containment measures. Most of these countries have strong institutions and well-educated populations and are digitalised,” reads the Index.
The meeting’s agenda consisted of various topics such as an extradition agreements between the GCC countries…Reports Asian Lite News
The UAE, represented by the Ministry of Justice, chaired a meeting of under-secretaries of the ministries of justice in the Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, via video conferencing.
The meeting’s agenda consisted of various topics such as an extradition agreement between the GCC countries; discussion on directors and heads of legal and judicial training centres in the GCC committee; development of the agreement on the execution of judgments, letters and judicial announcements, in addition to the identification of legislative principles in the laws and regulations.
It also included reviewing the meeting reports of the international relations, and cooperation between officers in the ministries of justice in the GCC committee in 2020.
In his speech, Advisor D. Saeed Ali Bahbouh Al Naqbi, Acting Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice, stated that the meeting was taking place amid exceptional circumstances, as the world was still facing a pandemic that had disrupted the lifestyles and activities of people. It had forced a change in the work plans, programmes and strategies in all institutions, especially legal and justice establishments, whose job it was to provide services to people and implement the process of justice.
The UAE delegation also included Obaid Al Dhaheri, Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Justice Services at the Ministry of Justice and Abdul Rahman Murad Al Balushi, Director of International Cooperation Department.
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Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Hussein reviewed the prospects of advancing cooperation between the two friendly countries.
This came in a phone call on Thursday, wherein the two top diplomats agreed to meet shortly and to form joint working teams to drive cooperation in the fields of economy, investment, trade, food security and education.
The two sides discussed an array of issues of interest, in addition to the global fight against the COVID-19 in light of the co-operation between the two nations to transfer knowledge and exchange expertise in order to apply state-of-the-art techniques conducive to developing a vaccine to the disease.
The two ministers underscored the importance of accelerating cooperation between friendly and fraternal nations and enhance international cooperation and global synergy to contain the impact of this pandemic on various fronts, notably in the health and economic fields.
Sheikh Abdullah likewise emphasised on the privileged strategic and historical relations between the two nations and their leadership’s determination to grow cooperation across various domains.
He highlighted the distinguished relations between the UAE and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the importance of further driving joint action to establish sustainable partnerships between the two sides.
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The seventh session of the Abu Dhabi-Japan Economic Council (ADJEC) kicked off Thursday on a virtual platform to discuss ways of enhancing economic, commercial, and investment cooperation between Abu Dhabi and Japan in several economic sectors of mutual interest, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the global economy.
Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and Kiyoshi Ejima, Japan’s State Minister, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, co-chaired the Council’s 7th session in the presence of Rashed Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, Undersecretary of ADDED and Nobuyori Kodaira, President, Japan Cooperation Centre for the Middle East (JCCME).
The session is a follow up to the implementation of decisions made during previous sessions that were held alternately in Tokyo and Abu Dhabi, including the implementation of key recommendations aimed at enhancing business cooperation between the two countries. The 7th session is also set to advance the interest of Japanese companies keen to expand their investment and commercial activities in Abu Dhabi and the UAE in general.
The ADJEC 7th session held joint group discussions focused on key sectors, including agri-tech, health services, biomedicine, information and communication technology (ICT), financial services, and tourism.economic development.
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The founder and former Chairman of UAE’s NMC healthcare and Finablr, BR Shetty has moved a complaint against former CEOs and officials of the two companies, alleging them of fraud. He claims that Pramod and Prashanth Manghat who were the CEOs had defrauded him by orchestrating a deception over the group companies’ affairs, Khaleej Times reports.
“I am filing the present complaint against a large, complex and sophisticated corporate and financial fraud perpetrated by Prasanth and Promoth Manghat, brothers who were the former CEOs of NMC and Finablr,” Shetty said in a complaint filed with Mangaluru East (Kadri) Police Station in Karnataka. The copies of the complaint was also shared with the Prime Minister and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate.
Shetty moved to India in February when the scandals of financial irregularities and inflated accounts rocked NMC Healthcare and financial service firm Finablr.
While the Manghat brothers topped the list of 10 accused in the complaint, others included Prasanth Shenoy, the former chief financial officer of NMC, Suresh Kumar, former head of treasury, NMC; Sabina Shamsundar Salgaokar (secretary to Prasanth Manghat – NMC; Pradeep Kumar and Rahul Ranjit, of Unimoni and Finablr respectively, and Suresh Kumar Nandiraju of Neopharma. Two Indian banks, Bank of Baroda and Federal Bank, also figure in the list.
The Pandora’s Box was opened when an investment firm, Muddy Waters, issued a report criticizing NMC’s accounts and disclosing a short position in December, 2019. Muddy Waters’ scrutiny then snowballed into a troubling scenario for Shetty that shed light on his complex share arrangements and cast doubts about his net worth.
Shetty has claimed in the complaint that by 2017, he had lost “all visibility” into the affairs of his group companies due to his resignation and “deception” by the Manghat brothers. He has further claimed that he had no access whatsoever to the records of the group companies from 2017 and was receiving “general misleading financial and corporate reports” prepared by Manghat brothers.
The Emirate of Sharjah is all set to host the iconic Sharjah International Book Fair, SIBF even in the pandemic situation by adopting relevant safety measures. The 39th edition of the fair which will be held from 4th to 14th November, 2020, will host hundreds of Arab and international publishers.
This year it promotes the theme “The World Reads from Sharjah”.
One of the top three book fairs in the world, the SIBF has for the first time in its history, adopted a unique online-offline hybrid programming that promises to deliver a memorable mix of literary and cultural activities.
Sharjah Book Authority, SBA, has emphasised that the new format of the fair has audience safety at the forefront, and fully adheres to global health and safety protocols in place to curb the spread of the Coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic. The SIBF’s cultural programme adopts a fully digital format while publishers will make a physical appearance at the Expo Centre Sharjah, so book lovers across the nation can continue to enjoy the in-person experience of sifting through and buying books this year.
The 11-day event will see participating publishing houses on-site welcome visitors including children, youth, adults, and industry professionals looking to buy new titles and explore new genres of literature.
The SIBF 2020 theme is inspired by Sharjah’s leading position as an incubator of Arab culture and a creative hub that attracts intellectuals, writers and artists to meet and share experiences. In selecting the theme, SBA has affirmed that Sharjah is still welcoming literary leaders, readers, knowledge seekers and learners from across the world.
Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of Sharjah Book Authority, SBA, said, “We believe that cultural activities must not stop even in challenging circumstances as enriching people’s lives through reading, literacy and knowledge is a key driver for social development and prosperity. SBA’s commitment to Sharjah’s cultural legacy is in line with the vision of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, to build a bright present and promising future for the young generations by fostering knowledge and broadening their horizons through reading.”
“In keeping with our mission of promoting culture and creativity, SBA will deploy the latest technologies in visual communication to successfully host all its virtual events, activities and discussions. By providing a new experience for our audience, we want to reiterate that Sharjah is committed to being a true beacon of culture and knowledge,” Al Ameri said.
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