Day: June 21, 2021

DUBAI, Pakistan has unveiled its logo for Expo 2020 Dubai and the theme at a grand media unveiling event in the presence of ministers and top government officials.

Under its theme “The Hidden Treasure”, with an inviting façade and an immersive walkthrough experience inside, it aims to showcase Pakistan’s vast opportunities in tourism, commerce and investment to the expected 25 million global audiences.

The curtain raiser event for Pakistan Pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai was attended by Chaudhary Fawad Hussain, Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Information and Broadcasting; Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Commerce & Investment; Arif Ahmed Khan, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan CEO; Trustees from Patrons of Expo 2020, and the Advisory Committee.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief guest Hussain said, “This is a great opportunity for Pakistan to show its immense potential to the world.”

The pavilion will be divided into eight key spaces where visitors will experience Pakistan’s best-kept hidden treasures. Visitors will be taken on a voyage through time, from the world’s first recorded civilisations to the fast-paced millennium of today which include virtual experiences of landscapes, cultural and religious diversity, rich artisan traditions, and strong economic potentials presented in the world of today.

Pakistan will present itself as a “land of opportunities” for commerce and investment.

Also inside is a Pakistani cuisine restaurant by the name of “The Dhabba” and a souvenir shop. Depicting the impeccable crafts and providing a taste of the sumptuous cuisine from all parts of Pakistan.

Through the six months of Expo 2020 Dubai, there will be many cultural events and business seminars held in multi-purpose halls of the pavilion.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Food aid operations of the “100 Million Meals” campaign have been completed in two refugee camps in Jordan, providing over 4.7 million meals in cooperation with the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

The massive distribution comes a month after the 100 Million Meals campaign concluded, securing 216 million meals, double its target, to vulnerable communities in 30 countries across four continents.

In collaboration with the WFP, about 52,000 Syrian individuals and families in Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps in Jordan received reloadable food e-vouchers, equivalent to 4.7 million meals raised from the campaign, to empower them to purchase their food at contracted shops.

The campaign’s organiser Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) signed a partnership with the WFP to provide food aid to refugees in Jordan and Bangladesh and low-income individuals and families in Palestine.

In Jordan, the WFP completed the food aid distribution to Syrian refugees in both camps, where it has been providing monthly food assistance to vulnerable families and individuals since 2012.

The e-voucher programme facilitated quick and reliable access to beneficiaries in Jordan within just one month. Equipped with innovative biometric identification, the e-voucher system enables beneficiaries to choose food products from a wide network of shops and bakeries operating in the camps.

Besides ensuring access to a variety of fresh produce that provides for a healthy and balanced diet, e-vouchers are channels to inject income back into the local economy.

Sara Al Nuaimi, Director at the MBRGI, said that the campaign goal is to provide direct and quick access to a large scope of beneficiaries in disadvantaged communities covered by the campaign. Completing the food distribution with WFP in Jordan within just one month reflects the efficiency of the logistical network set by the campaign.

Al Nuaimi noted that food distribution with WFP is underway in Bangladesh and Palestine, to reach a total of 399,000 beneficiaries in the three countries including Jordan.

Mageed Yahia, WFP Director in the UAE and Representative to the GCC, said, “the timely contribution of the 100 Million Meals campaign enabled WFP to continue supporting vulnerable people in Jordan’s Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps. The outbreak of COVID-19 prompted severe funding shortfalls for the WFP, cutting vital assistance to 210,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan earlier in July. About 68% of refugees in Jordan had their incomes dropped during that time.”

As part of the campaign, the WFP is currently providing food aid through e-vouchers to beneficiaries in Palestine, including 207,000 people in Gaza and 103,000 people in the West Bank. It is also assisting some 36,000 people in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

According to 2021 WFP figures, more than 270 million people in over 80 countries where the programme operates are facing acute food insecurity. The UN estimates the number of undernourished people across the world to be more than 690 million.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Drydocks World, a leading provider of marine and offshore services to the shipping, oil, gas and energy sectors, is launching a digital transformation project to enhance its core systems to deliver operational efficiencies and improved customer service.

The transformation project will leverage IFS Cloud to meet its growing enterprise resource planning and asset management needs, according to a press release on Monday.

The transformation project will enhance Drydocks World’s critical business systems and will set the ground for Drydocks World’s digital shipyard transition. It will facilitate more streamlined processes, enhanced integration between systems, and expanded use of real-time data to drive optimised decision-making across the organisation. In addition, the project will enhance the core technologies like RFID devices, and make use of emerging technologies, such as augmented reality and robotics, which can be easily embedded into the IFS solutions.

The IFS solution will modernise and automate the current production and operation capabilities at Drydocks World, consolidating the current core systems and processes into one single product built on a common platform. The asset management and manufacturing modules of the IFS solution will increase complete transparency and automation at Drydocks World shipyards for new builds and repairs.

Drydocks World Chief Executive Officer Capt. Rado Antolovic said that “this digital transformation program is important to ensure we deliver world-class service. With this new system our people will be better equipped to do their jobs by working with real-time data, integrative platforms and improved knowledge sharing that will enable them to focus on the areas of their expertise. We chose IFS for its industry experience and expertise, as well as its best in class product capabilities.”

IFS Middle East and South Asia Managing Director Mehmood Khan commented that “IFS is honoured to be selected by Drydocks World as its digital platform of choice, as it embarks on this ambitious and exciting initiative. We look forward to helping Drydocks World harness our managed cloud services to simplify deployment and reduce total cost of ownership with a more environmentally sustainable, cloud-based solution”.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Abdulla Bin Damithan, DP World’s UAE Region and Jafza CEO and Managing Director, today welcomed UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Ted Chaiban, to Dubai as part of its ongoing efforts to leverage DP World’s facilities, infrastructure, and expertise to deliver critical COVID-19 supplies to countries most in need.

In January, DP World and UNICEF announced an ambitious and wide-ranging multi-year partnership supporting UNICEF’s mission to distribute critical COVID-19 vaccines and critical supplies on behalf of the COVAX Facility. Through this partnership, the two entities are collaborating on advocacy and knowledge-sharing to address logistical bottlenecks hindering access to essential supplies for children and their families.

UNICEF has begun utilising DP World’s free zone facilities in Jebel Ali to optimise critical supply access for countries most under pressure from the pandemic. The operation focuses on low- and lower-middle-income countries, where populations have been hard-hit, and pharmaceutical transport and logistics are particularly challenging.

Abdulla Bin Damithan said, “It has been an honour to welcome Ted Chaiban and his team to our flagship terminal in Dubai, which plays a crucial role in distributing vital COVID-19 supplies to where they are needed most.”

“We offer our infrastructure and expertise to support UNICEF in this effort because everyone should have access to vaccines, especially the most vulnerable members of society. I am confident that our combined expertise and extensive infrastructure will ensure vital supplies quickly get to where they are needed.”

Most recently, DP World supported UNICEF in sending critical supplies to India. Thanks to its end-to-end logistics and quick-reaction capabilities, it quickly dispatched these supplies from UNICEF’s facilities in Dubai to New Delhi for distribution within India.

This emergency shipment of critical supplies is just one of many operations with which DP World supported UNICEF.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally impacted the health, education and protection of children. Ensuring the equitable and affordable distribution of the vaccines across all countries will help bring normalcy to their lives,” Chaiban said.

“The readiness of logistics infrastructure and services will be valuable as we hope more high-income countries will start to share their vaccine doses through the COVAX facility. The whole world will remain vulnerable to the virus unless we all work, through partnerships like this one, towards achieving equal levels of protection.”

Source: Emirates News Agency