During the meeting later in the day, Qureshi exchanged views with Sheikh Mohammed, who is also ruler of Dubai, on a range of issues of mutual interest and discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation…reports Asian Lite News
Visiting Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, during which they discussed a range of issues of mutual interest, the Foreign Office in Islamabad said in a statement.
On Thursday, Qureshi arrived in Dubai on a two-day visit, The Express Tribune reported.
During the meeting later in the day, Qureshi exchanged views with Sheikh Mohammed, who is also ruler of Dubai, on a range of issues of mutual interest and discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation, possibilities of enhancing bilateral trade relations and promoting investment, in particular in the field of agriculture, the statement said.
“The foreign minister also discussed matters pertaining to the welfare of Pakistani diaspora in the UAE,” it added.
Qureshi, the statement said, requested Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid to encourage the UAE’s business community to explore immense investment opportunities in Pakistan.
Before concluding his visit, the Foreign Minister is slated to meet the Pakistani community.
UAE and UK discussed the critical role of strong UK-UAE bilateral ties in accelerating progress on emissions reductions and sustainable industrial development, areas which both closely align with the UAE Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071.
UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, met with COP26 President and UK Special Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Alok Sharma.
The two officials discussed the critical role of strong UK-UAE bilateral ties in accelerating progress on emissions reductions and sustainable industrial development, areas which both closely align with the UAE Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071.
Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber
In his conversation with Sharma, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said, “For more than 49 years, the UAE has prioritized responsible stewardship of natural resources, and my new appointment as Special Envoy for Climate Change is a testament of the UAE’s continued commitment to further progress on this front both domestically and globally.”
“On the issue of climate change, collective action is essential, and I am both impressed and motivated by the UK’s ambitious emissions targets. I look forward to working closely with Secretary Sharma to identify new potential areas of UK-UAE climate cooperation and aligning our national ambitions as we approach the upcoming COP26 in Glasgow.”
Dr. Sultan, in his capacity as Chairman of the UAE’s National COVID-19 Crisis Recovery, Management & Governance Committee, also shared learnings from the UAE’s successful management of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted the UAE’s keen interest in leveraging its renewable and carbon capture and storage technology to support its post-COVID economic recovery.
Alok Sharma
Secretary Sharma shared words of praise for the UAE’s investments in renewable energy both domestically and abroad, and expressed appreciation for Dr. Sultan’s proposal to form a joint working group aimed at advancing opportunities for UK and UAE joint coordination on climate action, the post-COVID economic recovery, and sustainable industrial development.
Scientific advances
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said scientific advances can be used to battle climate change, a challenge which he described as being “far worse, far more destructive than coronavirus”.
Johnson made the remarks while speaking at the virtual Climate Ambition Summit co-convened by the United Nations, Britain, and France, in partnership with Chile and Italy.
The Prime Minister hailed a new era of “scientific optimism” as the year comes to the end.
“We are coming to the end of an extraordinary year with, I think, a sudden surge of scientific optimism, because of after barely 12 months of the pandemic we are seeing the vaccine going into the arms of the elderly and the vulnerable.”
“Together we can use scientific advances to protect our entire planet — our biosphere — against a challenge far worse, far more destructive even than the coronavirus,” he said.
“And by the promethean power of our invention, we can begin to defend the Earth against the disaster of global warming.”
“At the same time, we can create thousands of jobs, millions of jobs as we collectively recover from the pandemic,” he added.
Earlier this month, Johnson announced that Britain will be committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68 percent by the end of the decade compared to 1990 levels.
The virtual Climate Ambition Summit, held exactly five years since the adoption of the landmark Paris Agreement, aims to make new commitments to tackling climate change and delivering on the Paris Agreement ahead of the next UN Climate Conference, COP26, which will be hosted by Britain in November next year in Glasgow.
The summit brought together UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and more than 70 world leaders from such countries as Britain, France, Germany, China and Canada, as well as businesses and civil society.
Ahead of the COP26 in Glasgow, China will host the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan in southwest China, in May, 2021.
The Foreign Ministry statement said Qureshi will hold discussions with the UAE leadership on all areas of mutual interest including regional and global issues..reports Asian Lite News
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday embarked on a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for talks on bilateral matters, according to an official statement issued here.
The Foreign Ministry statement said Qureshi will hold discussions with the UAE leadership on all areas of mutual interest including regional and global issues, reports Xinhua news agency.
“The Foreign Minister will exchange views on bilateral cooperation, in particular, trade, investment and the welfare of Pakistani diaspora,” it said.
The UAE is home to the second-largest Pakistani community abroad.
The visit is part of the high-level exchanges between Pakistan and UAE, according to the statement.
“High-level visits are an important feature, which not only exhibit cordial ties between the two countries but also accord the leadership an opportunity to give further impetus to strengthening bilateral cooperation on a wide range of issues,” it added.
According to the the UAE’s 1st National Health Account (NHA), the country has topped the Gulf, Arab and Eastern Mediterranean countries in terms of the Current Health Expenditure per Capita (CHE_pc). The results also showed that the country’s health financing system is sustainable, with the mandatory spending reaching 83 per cent of the total spending on healthcare.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) on Sunday announced the results of the National Health Account (NHA) 2017, which was carried out in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and relevant health and government authorities.
The results were announced during a virtual media briefing held in presence of Dr. Hussain Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Under-Secretary of Health Centres and Clinics, Ministry of Health and Prevention, and representatives from the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Department of Health-Abu Dhabi, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Sharjah Health Authority, Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC) and the Insurance Authority.
Sustainable Development “The UAE deservedly occupies a prominent position across many global competitiveness reports when it comes to sustainable development, thanks to first the support and directives of its wise leadership and second having developed national indicators and performance standards, which are serving as a roadmap for improving the quality of healthcare services, taking advantage of the country’s modern infrastructure, state-of-the-art technologies, and highly efficient medical care facilities,” said Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention.
ICU
“The 1st National Health Account findings revealed that the UAE is leading the Gulf, Arab and Eastern Mediterranean countries in the total expenditure on health per capita, in itself a remarkable achievement that would enhance the effectiveness of national initiatives, projects and policies in line with the Future Foresight Strategy and the UAE Centennial 2071,” Al Owais stated.
Governance & sustainability For his part, Dr. Mohammad Salim Al Olama, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Health, affirmed that the NHA has become a strategic priority in the UAE, supporting the sustainability, competitiveness and governance of the country’s health sector.
He thanked all members of the NHA Committee and health authorities and MoHAP work team for their exceptional efforts, which ensured the success of the NHA’s first edition.
“The NHA aims to set up an integrated national platform with a sustainable vision to gather health spending data, improve planning and allocate resources. The platform will give a special focus to the distribution of expenditures according to diseases and linking expenditures to budgets and health outcomes to offer national health strategic plan makers greater and more flexible options,” Al Olama said.
Healthcare a governmental priority Also speaking during the briefing, Al Rand congratulated the UAE leadership on the occasion of the Commemoration Day and 49th National Day, stressing that the country’s healthcare system is constantly evolving, making it one of the strongest and most resilient regionally and globally. “This has been made a reality thanks to the support and directives of the UAE government, which spares no effort to provide quality healthcare services based on a world-class health system known for being effective, flexible and sustainable,”.
“Providing a healthy life for every individual and family in the society tops the priorities of the UAE government; this is why we are today one of the best countries in the world,” Al Rand said.
During the virtual event, Al Rand gave a brief presentation about the NHA results, highlighting its strategic importance, elements and the methodology used in the calculations. “The findings would greatly help enhance the competitiveness of health spending not only in the UAE but also in the Gulf, Arab countries, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Economic Cooperation Organization countries,” he emphasised.
Report Findings According to Dr. Al Rand, the Current Health Expenditure increased by 26 per cent, to US$ AED 57 billion in 2017, compared to AED 45 billion in 2016, as per WHO statistics. The results also found that the per capita Health expenditure run to AED 6,128 (US$ 1,669), with a similar growth rate of 26 per cent, up from US$ 1,323 in 2016. This increase in the Current Health Expenditure per capita is topping the rank of the UAE over the Gulf States and the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Sustainable Health Financing He added that the CHE as a per cent of GDP is making up 4.0 per cent with a 14.3 per cent increase compared to 3.5 per cent in 2016, which confirms a faster pace of growth in the health sector than the GDP.
In 2017, the Compulsory Financing Arrangements (CFA) comprised 82.6 per cent of the CHE, while it was estimated at 71.6 per cent in 2016, recording 15.4 per cent growth. The share of CFA as a per cent of CHE is higher than the average of OECD countries with six points, which reflects the sustainability of health financing in the country.
Al Rand went on to say: “The Out of Pocket Expenditure as a per cent of CHE dropped by 36 per cent reaching 12.2 per cent in 2017, down from 19.2 per cent in 2016. This reflects the government’s interest in strengthening the financial protection of individuals to help them obtain health services and achieve universal health coverage, which is one of the most important health goals of the UAE’s plan set to achieve sustainable development goals,”.
Sheikh Mohamed and Prince Charles also exchanged views on regional and international developments of mutual interest…reports Asian Lite News
As part of his visit to the United Kingdom,Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, met Thursday in London with HRH Prince Charles Philips, Prince of Wales.
Sheikh Mohamed and the heir apparent to the British throne, discussed the historical ties of friendship and cooperation between the UAE and the United Kingdom, as well as the ongoing international efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
Sheikh Mohamed and Prince Charles also exchanged views on regional and international developments of mutual interest.
During the meeting, attended by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Sheikh Mohamed thanked Prince Charles for the warm hospitality.
He conveyed the greetings of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and to Prince Philip, and his wishes to them for good health.
Sheikh Mohamed underlined the privileged relations between the UAE and the UK, saying the growing bonds between the two nations are not limited to economic and commercial fields, but extend to cultural and educational domains. He expressed his wishes for further progress and prosperity to the British people.
Prince Charles welcomed Sheikh Mohamed’s visit to the UK and thanked him for his noble feelings and solidarity with the people of the UK during these challenging times the world is currently going through.
The meeting was attended by Mansour Abdullah Balhoul Al Falasi, UAE Ambassador to the UK, and Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, the Undersecretary of the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi.
To date, the UAE has responded to the COVID-19 crisis by providing over 1,661 metric tonnes of aid to 120 countries in need, supporting more than 1.6 million medical professionals in the process…reports Asian Lite News
The United Arab Emirates on Thursday sent an aid plane containing 14 metric tonnes of medical supplies and testing kits to Sudan. The aid will assist approximately 14,000 medical professionals as they work to contain the virus.
Hamad Al-Junaibi, UAE Ambassador to Sudan, said: “The brotherly Republic of Sudan was one of the first countries to receive UAE aid as part of its efforts to combat COVID-19. The first shipment of medical aid was sent last April and was followed by numerous other shipments over the past nine months comprising a total of 230 metric tonnes, with 130 of those metric tonnes provided by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.”
“Continuing to operate the UAE’s air bridge to Sudan affirms the strong and distinguished relations between both countries and the UAE’s keenness to support the health sector in Sudan and strengthen the government’s work by providing direct support to medical workers, including doctors and nurses, and offering equipment to combat the pandemic,” he added.
To date, the UAE has responded to the COVID-19 crisis by providing over 1,661 metric tonnes of aid to 120 countries in need, supporting more than 1.6 million medical professionals in the process.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has been officially rated a Five-Star Global Airline by the Airline Passenger Experience Association, APEX.
The award was presented to the airline at the virtual APEX Award Ceremony, part of the FTE APEX Virtual Expo, on 9th December.
The APEX Official Airline Ratings were created based on neutral, third-party passenger feedback and insights gathered through APEX’s partnership with TripIt from Concur, the world’s highest-rated travel-organising app. Using a five-star scale, nearly one million flights were rated by passengers across more than 600 airlines from around the world. The APEX Official Airline Ratings were independently certified by a professional external auditing company.
Terry Daly, Executive Director Guest Experience, Brand & Marketing, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “The entire Etihad team is honoured to be recognised by APEX as a five-star airline in the 2021 Official Airline Ratings. This would always be a special achievement, but in 2020, it is even more rewarding. This year has challenged the aviation industry in ways we could never have imagined. Yet throughout it all, Etihad’s talented and professional team, has made us proud.”
Etihad has led the industry’s response to the pandemic, with the introduction of the Etihad Wellness programme, which ensures the highest standards of hygiene are maintained at every stage of the customer journey. This includes specially trained Wellness Ambassadors, a first in the industry, who are available to support passengers online, at the airport, and on board.
In order to ensure complete peace of mind for its guests, Etihad is the only airline in the world requiring 100% of its passengers to show a negative PCR test before travelling and then retesting on arrival. Etihad also provides COVID-19 wellness insurance to all guests, no exceptions, as further evidence of its commitment to passenger safety and wellbeing.
H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah has inaugurated the House of Wisdom, a new cultural edifice and an iconic architectural marvel situated near the University City of Sharjah, which celebrates the emirate’s year-long tenure as UNESCO World Book Capital 2019.
Reimagined as a library of the 21st century, the newly opened House of Wisdom, HoW, is inspired by modern architecture comprising 15 lobbies and halls spread across two storeys.
Set on an elevated platform spanning 12,000 square metres, Sharjah’s House of Wisdom has been designed as an immersive space for learning, sharing, creating, and accessing knowledge. Key spaces bathed in natural light include an expansive lobby, the Al Rasheed Hall, the Espresso Books, Knowledge Terrace, the Wisdom Vault and the Al Ma’moun Exhibition; the Little Reader, the Wisdom Square, the Ibn Duraid Reading Area, the Al Jazri Lab, the Ladies Diwan, the Al Jarhmi Library, and the Al Khawarizmi Exhibition.
Developed by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, Shurooq, the new knowledge centre and digital library complex is a hallmark of the libraries of the future – a flexible design that allows the library to grow with the times, vast digital resources, a fabrication lab with 3D printers to build prototypes of experimental projects and cutting-edge technology to print and bind books within minutes. The library’s futuristic suspended private pods for quiet reading and a host of collaborative community spaces are designed in a way that promotes academic and non-academic pursuits, social learning and cultural interaction.
Designed by Foster + Partners, an award-winning architectural firm, the structure also includes lecture halls, reading lounges, exhibition spaces, a dedicated children’s educational area, a central courtyard, a café, a restaurant, and outdoor gardens planted with local varieties of fig, ghaf and palm trees.
Following the inauguration, the Ruler of Sharjah toured the new cultural landmark accompanied by Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Shurooq; Mohammed Obaid Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Protocol and Hospitality Department, Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, Executive Chairman of Shurooq; and Marwa Obaid Al Aqroubi, Director of the House of Wisdom.
At the library which will be home to 305,000 books, of which 200,000 are in the digital format and 11,000 comprise books in varied languages, the Ruler of Sharjah was briefed on how the futuristic library has been reinterpreted to adapt to the fast-changing world of technology. The children’s library “The Little Reader” houses more than 2,000 books, while another has been set aside for youth with 3,000 titles.
The Sharjah Ruler also viewed the “Book espresso machine” that prints and binds books on demand in minutes, along with the digital self-service station.
Continuing his tour, Dr. Sheikh Sultan visited the Al Jazari Laboratory (Fabrication Lab), named in honour of inventor Badi Alzaman Al Jazari’s (1136 AD – 1206 AD) scientific contributions to the world. The lab is equipped with cutting-edge technologies and state-of-the-art 3D printers, laser and vinyl cutting machines, and Computer Numerical Control tools.
Sheikh Sultan also visited the spaces dedicated to women and children, including the Ladies Diwan, and the library for children between the ages of 3 and 10 years.
The Sharjah Ruler also toured Iraqi-born, New York-based artist Wafaa Bilal’s major solo exhibition titled “168: 01”, showing for the first time in the Arab world. The exhibition is an expression of the historic loss of a priceless cultural heritage that occurred when a fire destroyed more than 70,000 books at the library of the College of Fine Arts at University of Baghdad in 2003.
He stopped at the Al Rasheed Hall, a space for hosting seminars, events, and conferences in HoW and concluded his tour with a walk through the landscaped gardens featuring 331 trees of 12 different species, and which overlooks the Sharjah World Book Capital 2019 monument, “The Scroll” – a 36.5-metre piece of public art created by British sculptor Gerry Judah, inspired by an ancient scroll design that is representative of a celebration of reading and the power of books to unite people.
The two-day World Space Forum, which will begin Wednesday , is a key global forum that aims to achieve the United Nations, UN, Sustainable Development Goals and ensure the ideal global utilisation of space discoveries and science technologies.
Theme “Space for Our Future”, the event brings together experts and policymakers from regional, national and local institutions, private organisations, academic institutions, non-governmental organisations and international organisations, to exchange views on the four pillars of space economy, space society, space accessibility and space diplomacy.
The remote forum, which will be held via video conferencing and is jointly organised by the UAE Space Agency and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, UNOOSA, reflects the country’s efforts to achieve sustainability in this key sector and adopt the best international practices, highlighted by the recent announcement of the signing of an agreement between the agency and the UNOOSA to establish a UN office in Abu Dhabi in charge of space sector affairs and sustainability.
In the following report, the Emirates News Agency, WAM, will present some of the forum’s agendas and key pillars. The forum aims to support the efforts to realise the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, through exchanging expertise, adopting best practices, reinforcing the cooperation between space agencies, and ensuring the ideal global use of space discoveries, sciences and technologies, to create a better future for generations to come.
The forum will feature events and workshops that will focus on various topics, including the role of the space sector in addressing climate change, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises involved in the sector, the impact of the sector on the economy, and relevant partnerships between the public and private sectors.
In June 2020, the UAE Space Agency announced the signing of an agreement with the UNOOSA to establish an office in Abu Dhabi, which will reinforce the country’s strategic position in the region within relevant international organisations.
The signing of the agreement is due to the agency’s keenness to consolidate its ties with its strategic partners and aims to promote international cooperation in the field of space and sustainability, in line with the UAE’s efforts to create a diversified and sustainable economy and the UNOOSA’s goals.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has committed to purchasing carbon offsets, to completely neutralise the CO2 emissions of its flagship “Greenliner” 787-10 aircraft for a full year of operations in 2021.
The initiative is the start of the airline’s journey to reduce CO2 emissions to 50 percent of 2019 levels by 2035, and to achieve full net zero emissions by 2050 – a first for any airline in the Gulf and one of the first to set a target of this scale in the industry. Separately the airline will implement an additional voluntary offset programme for passengers via its website (etihad.com) in 2021.
Etihad’s Greenliner carbon offset programme has been sourced in partnership with Respira, an international carbon offset finance house specialising in tailored offset schemes across multiple sectors. Etihad’s plan is centred on a Tanzanian forestry project and will initially purchase 80,000 tonnes of CO2 offsets.
The Makame Savannah REDD project – developed by Carbon Tanzania – employs a unique community-based model to curb deforestation and promote better management of local natural resources across over 100,000 hectares in the southern extension of the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem.
The offset scheme is verified and certified by VERRA, an independent carbon offset quality assurance body, under its Verified Carbon Standard. This ensures carbon offsets are quantifiable, additional, and fully sustainable. In addition, the Tanzanian project conforms to Climate, Community and Biodiversity standards, which protect endangered species and local communities. The scheme’s first offset vintages were certified in early November 2020.
Tony Douglas, Etihad Aviation Group CEO, said: “It’s encouraging to end a difficult year with such a positive move for the sustainable future of aviation. While the year brought many challenges, sustainability has remained at the top of our agenda, and the work hasn’t stopped. Expect to see more ground-breaking initiatives in 2021 as we learn the environmental lessons from initiatives with our Greenliner fleet and other sustainability initiatives”.
The launch of the Greenliner carbon offset programme complements Etihad’s ongoing work to develop and test Sustainable Aviation Fuels, SAFs, with the goal of making them commercially viable for widespread adoption by the industry.
Ana Haurie, CEO of Respira, said: “Respira offers a fresh approach to the carbon market by aligning the interests of project developers, buyers and capital providers. In this way we create win-win outcomes for all stakeholders. It is a privilege to work with Etihad, which has shown real commitment to its sustainability goals through what is a challenging period for the airline industry.”
