The MoU focuses on collaboration for the strategic ‘Development Road’ project…reports Asian Lite News
The United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar and Türkiye, have signed a quadrilateral Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on the Development Road project. Iraq’s PM Muhammed S. Al-Sudani and President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan witnessed the signing ceremony on Monday
“This MoU focuses on collaboration for the strategic ‘Development Road’ project. The event was attended by members of the four signatory countries,” according to a PM Media Office statement received by the Iraqi News Agency.
The MOU was signed by Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Iraq’s Minister of Transport, Razzaq Muhibis, Türkiye’s Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, and Qatar’s Minister of Transport, Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti.
“The outlines for the framework of implementing the Development Road project aim to stimulate economic growth and enhance regional and international cooperation through economic integration. It seeks to create a sustainable economy bridging East and West, increase international trade, facilitate movement and commerce, establish a new competitive transport route, and bolster regional economic prosperity,” added the PM Office statement.
The summit, held under the theme of “Shaping Future Governments,” will also host more than 25 government and state heads….reports Asian Lite News
Türkiye, India and Qatar have been declared the guests of honor at the 2024 World Governments Summit set to take place in Dubai from February 12-14.
The summit, held under the theme of “Shaping Future Governments,” will also host more than 25 government and state heads.
The high-level delegations of the three guest countries will be headed by the President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
The guest countries will showcase their successful government experiences and best developmental practices during the summit, which will bring together thought leaders, experts, and representatives of over 85 international and regional organisations with 120 governmental delegations, and 4,000 attendees.
Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of WGS Organisation, said that hosting Türkiye, India, and Qatar as this year’s guests of honor reflects their deep-rooted ties and strategic partnership with the UAE.
He added that the participation of 25 state heads reaffirms the summit’s pivotal role as a platform for international cooperation and experience exchange to accelerate the progress of societies, and as an annual forum for world leaders and government officials.
Al Gergawi noted that welcoming the three countries as guests of honor comes as part of the summit’s mission, as an influential platform, to showcase the developmental experiences of different governments and promote best practices for a better future for humanity.
Key experiences
Selecting Türkiye, India, and Qatar as this year’s guests of honor also comes within efforts to strengthen partnerships with countries leading successful experiences in strategic sectors that serve societies.
The esteemed participation cements the summit’s position as the largest global gathering to present the best practices and share experiences, and as the first forum of its kind to bring together governments with international organizations and private sector leaders dedicated to shaping the future.
Solid ties
The participation of the guests of honor reflects a solid commitment to deepening relations and boosting cooperation with aims to achieve global prosperity and progress, as well as create urgent and innovative solutions for pressing global issues.
This year’s WGS focuses on six themes and hosts 15 global forums that will explore future strategies and major transformations in key sectors across 110 interactive dialogues.
Over 200 prominent speakers, including presidents, ministers, and visionaries, will share their insights alongside 23 ministerial meetings and executive sessions welcoming over 300 ministers.
Established during Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the UAE in July this year, the body is designed to expand and diversify the two nations’ trade and commercial relations…reports Asian Lite News
Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, led a high level public and private sector delegation from the UAE to attend the first session of the UAE-Türkiye Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO) in Istanbul.
Established during Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the UAE in July this year, the body is designed to expand and diversify the two nations’ trade and commercial relations and help achieve the goals of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which came into force on September 1 with the aim of increasing non-oil-trade to US$40 billion within five years.
During the meeting Al Zeyoudi and His Excellency Ömer Bolat, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye, heralded the progress of UAE-Turkish relations and expressed optimism about the prospects of further economic integration. During the first half of 2023, bilateral non-oil trade amounted to US$13.5 billion, an increase of 87 percent compared to the same period in 2022. This is almost equal to the total non-oil trade recorded in the whole of 2021 and double that achieved in 2020. Türkiye is the UAE’s fastest-growing trading partner among its top ten partners, and the sixth largest overall, accounting for more than 3 percent of the country’s total non-oil trade. In terms of investment, the UAE’s FDI into Türkiye now stands at US$7.8 billion.
HE Al Zeyoudi was joined at the commission by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Special Envoy to the Republic of Türkiye; HE Saeed Thani Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Türkiye; HE Mohammad Saeed Al Nuaimi, Acting Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment; and HE Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade Affairs at the UAE Ministry of Economy.
The conversations during the inaugural session covered sectors such as agro-food, automotive, fintech, healthcare, water technology, infrastructure, logistics and collaboration in joint projects in third countries. With the upcoming 2023 UN Climate Change Conference-COP28 taking place in Dubai in November and December, both parties also reiterated their commitment to collaborating on energy transition projects, transitioning to a low-carbon economy and supporting the development of a circular economy.
HE Al Zeyoudi stated, “This Joint Economic and Trade Commission is one of the key platforms to enable us to achieve the ambitious non-oil trade targets we have established. It will allow us to identify areas of maximum opportunity for our exporters, enable us to explore priority sectors for investment, help us build consensus on digital trade frameworks, standardization and accreditation and most importantly, reinforce trust and transparency in a relationship that is increasingly pivotal to both nations.”
Al Zeyoudi went on to stress the importance of the active participation of the private sector saying, “The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has opened the door to greater trade and investment, but it requires the cooperation and collaboration of our private sectors to fully realize its benefits. That means a forum for all stakeholders to share opportunities and discuss possibilities – openly and honestly. That means a place where conversations can begin – and carry on long into the future for our mutual benefit.”
Dr Thani echoed this message in a series of business events held alongside the joint commission, which included the Türkiye-UAE Business Forum and a high-level roundtable. Representatives of leading companies and investors from both countries participated in the sessions, where they held a series of bilateral meetings to exchange ideas and explore high-potential investment and partnership opportunities.
Subsequently, a total of three memoranda of understating (MoU) were exchanged between Emirati and Turkish entities during the events, including an MoU between the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and DEİK, the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye; and between UAE-based Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP) and Türkiye’s Yıldız Technopark. SRTIP also signed an MoU with the World Business Angel Forum (WBAF).
Commenting on the success of the events in Istanbul, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori said: “The UAE recognizes the immense potential of our relationship with Türkiye, a likeminded, pro-growth nation that has emerged as one of the region’s most dynamic economies. It is also one of the UAE’s fastest-growing trade partners and, with the UAE-Türkiye CEPA now fully implemented, we are set to enjoy a new era of cooperation between our two nations – one where we can harness our joint capabilities and resources to create a wide range of mutually beneficial growth opportunities. The meetings held in Istanbul this week have highlighted the breadth of possibilities in front of us and I look forward to supporting the development of the relationships and networks they will create.”
For his part, His Excellency Ömer Bolat said: “UAE-Turkish relations are witnessing a remarkable period of growth owing to the shared will from both sides to deepen our economic ties. This can be seen with record growth in our bilateral non-oil trade, which continues to flourish compared to previous years. We expect the value of non-oil trade will climb even further supported by the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UAE and Türkiye, which came into effect in early September.”
His Excellency added: “Other areas of cooperation are also witnessing tangible positive developments. For instance, Turkish construction companies have undertaken 141 projects worth US$12.6 billion in the UAE to date. This figure positions the Emirates as tenth globally for the number of projects undertaken by Turkish companies.”
The visiting delegation to Istanbul included 79 participants, including senior federal and local government officials, in addition to representatives of a number of major UAE companies operating in various sectors, including trade and investment, logistics, industry, energy, technology, healthcare, environment, agriculture, food security and financial services.
The second session of the Joint Economic Trade Commission will be held in the UAE with a date set to be agreed in the near future.
The 11 agreements cover areas of shared use of communications infrastructure, food security, intellectual property, disaster and emergency management, as well as cultural exchanges…reports Asian Lite News
Türkiye and Qatar signed 11 new agreements during the eighth meeting of their Supreme Strategic Committee in Istanbul on Friday, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani co-chaired the meeting, where high-level officials held talks on various issues.
The agreements cover areas of shared use of communications infrastructure, food security, intellectual property, disaster and emergency management, as well as cultural exchanges, according to the report.
Türkiye enjoys a deep historical friendship with Qatar. The two countries’ partnerships have also strengthened since the Supreme Strategic Committee was established in 2014, during which over 80 bilateral agreements were signed and high-level meetings were frequent.
Opec’s Production
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit voiced “full support” for Saudi Arabia’s decision to reduce oil production, the pan-Arab bloc said in a statement.
Aboul-Gheit condemned the harsh media campaign launched against Saudi Arabia following the announcement of the OPEC+ decision.
“Those statements aim at politicizing pure economic decisions that are necessary for the stability of the world economy in face of the ongoing dangerous challenges,” he said.
The Arab League’s leader also praised Saudi Arabia’s balanced strategy for stabilizing the oil markets and its position on global and regional political concerns.
Last week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a 23-member group known as OPEC+, decided to cut daily production by 2 million barrels starting November. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said the OPEC+ decision was “purely economic.”
The United States, which is facing mounting pressure from high inflation, objected to the production cut. U.S. President Joe Biden said he would be reviewing the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia and there would be unspecified “consequences” for the kingdom.
Iraq’s Government
UN special envoy for Iraq, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and speaker of the Arab Parliament on Friday congratulated Iraq on its ongoing political process to form a new government.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, congratulated the country’s new Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on being assigned to form a new government, official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported .
“We hope and expect the formation of the new government will pave the way for addressing Iraq’s long list of urgent and pending issues and meet the needs of the Iraqi people,” INA quoted the UN envoy’s congratulatory message to al-Sudani as saying.
Meanwhile, GCC secretary-general Nayef bin Falah Al-Hajraf congratulated newly-elected Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and prime minister-designate al-Sudani, said the GCC press release.
Al-Hajraf praised the strong relations between the GCC and Iraq, highlighting GCC countries’ willingness to strengthen cooperation with Iraq.
In his congratulation to Rashid and al-Sudani, Arab Parliament Speaker Adel Abdul-Rahman al-Asoumi called on all Iraqi political forces, at the delicate moments, to cooperate and provide support to the Iraqi president and prime minister-designate to maintain the stability of the country and achieve national consensus, according to the Arab Parliament press release.
Iraqi lawmakers on Thursday elected Rashid as the new president, marking a crucial step toward forming a new government for the country and ending a year of political deadlock.
After the parliament session, Rashid tasked al-Sudani with forming a new government as al-Sudani was nominated by the Coordination Framework (CF), the largest parliamentary alliance and an umbrella group of Shiite parliamentary parties.
Rashid’s election as president came as political tensions have been rising in the past months between the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Sadrist Movement, the biggest winner in the parliamentary elections in 2021, and its rivals in the CF alliance.
Al-Sadr demanded to dissolve parliament and hold early elections, but it was rejected by the CF parties, which became the largest bloc after al-Sadr ordered his followers to withdraw from the parliament in June.
