Tag Archives: united-states
UAE-United States bilateral ties to grow further
UAE-United States bilateral ties to grow further Abdul Basit / 11 March 2014 Bilateral relations between the UAE and US are growing steadily and are set to witness further progress, UAE Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri said during a meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri and Penny Pritzker during their meeting on Monday. — Wam Al Mansouri and Pritzker discussed promising opportunities and avenues, mainly key economic sectors like knowledge economy, that could deepen bilateral cooperation that have not been harnessed yet, given the US’ status as the world’s largest economy and UAE as the second-largest Arab economy. America ranks as Dubai’s third-largest trade partner globally and non-oil trade between them was Dh86 billion last year while over the past decade, total non-oil trade increased by 500 per cent. Pritzker spent a busy day in the emirate on Monday as she met top government officials and ministers and discussed ways to further boost trade relations. In the morning she called on His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Al Mansouri said that opportunities for joint cooperation in renewable energy were promising in light of the fact that the UAE, despite being a key oil producer, has become an industry leader in a short span of time and its impressive experiment has provided inspiration to many countries including advanced ones. Al Mansouri said World Expo 2020 in Dubai would generate huge investment opportunities for both local and foreign investors and businessmen including those from the US. He said the current visit of the US trade mission to the UAE would provide an insight into the available opportunities, and the ideal local investment and business climate. For her part, Pritzker said UAE-US relations were witnessing accelerating expansion at a time when the UAE is investing heavily in infrastructure and transport systems. She added that companies escorting her on the UAE trip were interested in investing in the UAE and the region. Pritzker noted that the UAE winning the bid to host Expo 2020 in Dubai had not come from a vacuum, rather from the good reputation of the UAE and its ability to surprise the world by hosting an exceptional edition of the World Expo. She praised the US trade ties with the UAE as “flourishing”, inviting US companies to tap investment opportunities on offer in the UAE market. Dubai Chamber Pritzker said Dubai is an extraordinary global hub and holds ample investment opportunities for American investors. At a reception hosted in her honour by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, she said Dubai is a strategic trade partner to the US and enjoys a great line of communication and bilateral ties with American businesses. Pritzker stated that American businesses can grab the opportunities that exist here, especially in the wake of the emirate’s preparation to host Expo 2020. She called upon American businesses to look for cooperation ties with Dubai businesses in the infrastructure sector and to use the emirate to expand into the region. “The Obama administration values America’s friendship with the UAE and the Gulf, and we believe there are many opportunities to deepen our engagement, cooperation and partnership in a number of areas,” she said. “The companies on my trade mission have the ideas and technical expertise to assist Dubai as it pursues its impressive plans for infrastructure and energy development, and they understand that working together is a win-win [situation] ,” she added. The meeting was attended by representatives of Dubai Foreign Direct Investment, the Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai Drydocks and Maritime World, Emaar, DP World and Dubai Aviation City Corporation, who presented their important projects and current and future plans of growth in front of the delegates representing 21 major US companies. Hisham Al Shirawi, second vice-chairman of the Dubai Chamber, welcomed the delegation and said the visit would help further strengthen bilateral relations between Dubai and the US. Al Shirawi said that currently there are 1,285 US companies registered with the Dubai Chamber and operating in the emirate. Dubai Chamber president and chief executive officer Hamad Buamim called upon American businesses to invest in Dubai’s trade, tourism, financial services, education and green technology sectors. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive officer of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, or Dewa, on Monday also received the US trade delegation at his office. Al Tayer said that the delegation aims to strengthen cooperation and joint action between the Dewa and US companies operating in the energy sector “Dubai is a strong market for huge investment projects,” he said. Al Tayer invited the delegation to participate in tenders for the Dewa’s mega projects that are due for launch this year. — abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Senior citizens will get priority for Haj this year
Senior citizens will get priority for Haj this year 10 March 2014 Haj contractors need to strictly abide by set rules and regulations, particularly quota and electronic advance reservation. Expansion project at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. — Supplied photos Aged pilgrims will be given priority for Haj this year, which will take place from October 3 to 6. Mohammed Obaid Al Mazrouie, Director-General of the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowment Foundation (GAIAEF), said: “The number of pilgrims on previous Haj trips and the time of the nearest pilgrimage will be examined.” Addressing a workshop organised by the GAIAEF, Dr Mazrouie said they will be holding a number of meetings with Haj contractors and other participants concerned to come up with an “excellent” vision and mechanism. All Haj contractors need to strictly abide by set rules and regulations, particularly quota and electronic advance reservation. “However, priority is to be given to first time and old pilgrims,” Mazrouie, who is also the chairman of the UAE’s official Haj mission, said. In late August 2013, Saudi authorities asked countries across the world to cut the number of Haj pilgrims by 20 per cent due to ongoing developments at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. The number of UAE Haj pilgrims was reduced from 6,228 in 2012 to 4,982 last year. Mazrouie urged those who have already performed Haj to give a chance to those who have not. “This will help protect all pilgrims against possible risks of crowding.” Ahmed Shabib Al Dhahiri, Director-General of the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, said they will adopt certain criteria during the “electronic election” of pilgrims. “We want to give equal and fair chances to all eligible pilgrims.” The Haj contractors present called for better streamlining of quota distribution in the country. “All Haj applicants are proposed to register in the GAIAEF web portal and key in their details in a unified database for pilgrims using their Emirates Identity cards.” They have also requested clear benchmarks for sorting out and picking pilgrims. “However, priority is to be given to old people who have not performed Haj.” The Haj contractors have called for registering pilgrims in the electronic database by surname and not by the first name. “A unified management has been proposed by some Haj tour operators to provide better services.” ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Vietnam spots possible wreckage from Malaysian plane
Vietnam spots possible wreckage from Malaysian plane (AFP) / 10 March 2014 The United States sent an FBI team to investigate, but US officials stressed there was as yet no evidence of terrorism. Vietnamese searchers on Sunday spotted possible aircraft debris after combing the sea for nearly 48 hours in the hunt for a Malaysian passenger jet that vanished with 239 people aboard, officials said. The discovery, which could confirm the worst fears of anguished relatives, came after Malaysia’s government launched a terror probe into the Boeing 777’s disappearance, investigating suspect passengers who boarded with stolen passports. “We received information from a Vietnamese plane saying that they found two broken objects, which seem like those of an aircraft, located about 50 miles (80 kilometres) to the southwest of Tho Chu Island,” said an official from Vietnam’s National Committee for Search and Rescue, who did not want to be named. The island is part of a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Vietnam, and lies northeast of Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, from where Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 left early Saturday bound for Beijing. “As it is night they cannot fish them out for proper identification. They have located the position of the areas and flown back to land,” the Vietnamese official added. Planes and boats would be sent back to the area on Monday to investigate further, he said. Two large oil slicks which authorities suspect were caused by jet fuel were detected late Saturday farther south of the island chain, and observed later by an AFP journalist aboard a Vietnamese spotter plane. Both MAS and Malaysia’s civil aviation authority, however, said they had no new information to offer after the apparent Vietnamese discovery. Malaysian officials said earlier that MH370 may have inexplicably turned back towards Kuala Lumpur. The plane, captained by a veteran MAS pilot, had relayed no indications of distress, and weather at the time was said to be stable. The United States sent an FBI team to investigate, but US officials stressed there was as yet no evidence of terrorism. “There is a distinct possibility the airplane did a turn-back, deviating from the course,” said Malaysia’s air force chief, General Rodzali Daud, citing radar data. But MAS chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the Boeing 777’s systems would have set off alarm bells in that case. “When there is an air turn-back the pilot would be unable to proceed as planned,” he said, adding authorities were “quite puzzled” over the situation. A total of 40 ships and 34 aircraft from an array of Southeast Asian countries, China and the US have been involved in the search, with two Australian surveillance aircraft due to join in. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had asked Malaysia to continue the search, saying every minute counts, according to a report from the official Xinhua news agency early Monday. The report said he told his Malaysian counterpart Anifah Aman: “Search and rescue should not stop so long as there is a glimmer of hope.” The Chinese government will send a working group later Monday morning to Malaysia, Xinhua said. It will include officials from the foreign ministry, ministry of public security and transport ministry, according to the foreign ministry’s website. Its tasks will include investigating the incident and helping family members already in Malaysia. After it emerged that two people boarded the flight with stolen European passports, Malaysia’s transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he was looking at four suspect passengers in all. He said authorities were examining CCTV footage of the two with fake passports. “We have managed to get visuals of them,” he said, adding that Malaysia was liaising with other countries’ intelligence agencies on the findings. He gave no more details. Hishammuddin also confirmed the FBI was dispatching personnel to Malaysia. “At the same time our own intelligence has been activated, and of course, the counter-terrorism units… from all the relevant countries have been informed,” he said, refusing to rule out the possibility of a hijack. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted by The Star newspaper saying the government would review and enhance airport security protocols, if needed. Technical advisers from Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration are en route to Asia to help with the probe. The flight vanished about an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. A total of 153 Chinese nationals were on board, and relatives camping out at Beijing’s main international airport complained about the lack of news. “The airline company didn’t contact me, it was a friend,” a middle-aged woman surnamed Nan told reporters, holding back tears. Her brother-in-law was on the flight. “I can’t understand the airline company. They should have contacted the families first thing.” MAS insisted it was doing its best to keep relatives in China informed given the confusion over the plane’s fate, and has offered to fly them to Malaysia to be closer to the search-and-rescue operation. Two European names — Christian Kozel, an Austrian, and Luigi Maraldi of Italy — were listed on the passenger manifest. But neither man boarded the plane, officials said. Both had their passports stolen in Thailand over the past two years. Thai police said on Sunday they were investigating a possible passport racket as flight information seen by AFP gave new details about bookings made in Thailand with the two stolen European passports. The tickets booked in Maraldi and Kozel’s names were made on March 6, 2014 and issued in the Thai city of Pattaya, a popular beach resort south of Bangkok. The e-ticket numbers for their flights are consecutive and both were paid for in Thai baht. Each ticket cost THB 20,215 (US$625). “Kozel” was booked to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on MH370, then on to Amsterdam and Frankfurt. “Maraldi” was booked on the same flights until Amsterdam, where he was to continue to Copenhagen. Interpol confirmed that “at least two passports” recorded in its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database were used by passengers on board the Malaysian flight. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
