Emirates re-opens dedicated First Class Lounge at DXB

DUBAI, Emirates has re-opened its dedicated First Class Lounge at Dubai International (DXB’s) Concourse B to serve the growing volume of premium customers travelling from and through Emirates’ hub, as more markets around the world ease restrictions and put in place protocols that enable international travel.

Emirates will also continue to operate its Business Class Lounge in Concourse B, which has been opened since July 2020 for First and Business Class travellers, as well as eligible Skywards members.

The re-opening of Emirates’ First Class Lounge in Concourse B is the latest in a phased programme, where the airline has steadily and safely restarted its exclusive ground services for premium customers over the past year. This includes complimentary Chauffeur Drive in 70 cities, and Emirates Lounge operations in Dubai, Cairo, New York JFK, Manchester, Boston, Milan, and Los Angeles.

Source: Emirates News Agency

GMIS2021 to convene global leaders to discuss future of global digital transformation

DUBAI, The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) has today announced that its fourth edition (GMIS2021) will invite global leaders to the United Arab Emirates to spearhead discussions on the future of the US$6.8 trillion global digital transformation.

The GMIS2021 agenda will spotlight the importance of data intelligence and connectivity, highlighting the evolving integration of humans and machines, reinventing businesses, repurposing capabilities, and rewiring societies.

Driven by the accelerated adoption of digitalisation and the heightened demand for contactless solutions and cloud services, direct digital transformation investments are expected to total US$6.8 trillion between 2020 and 2023, and 65 percent of the world’s GDP is set to be digitalised by 2022, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

Themed ‘Rewiring Societies: Repurposing Digitalisation for Prosperity’, GMIS2021 will draw on key global leaders from government, business, and civil society to discuss and debate how data and connectivity are becoming the leading factors shaping the future of supply chains, green manufacturing, sustainable energy, climate action, policymaking, and resilient global economies.

Badr Al Olama, Head of the GMIS Organising Committee, said, “The world is undergoing a data-driven revolution. Across the world, organisations are scaling up digital transformation investments to become enterprises of the future. As a result, there is a renewed focus on data intelligence and connectivity, which are rapidly transforming every facet of industrial and economic growth. At the heart of GMIS2021 is the critical need for industries and governments to underpin technological breakthroughs into their core strategies, business models and future outlook.”

Driven by Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Cloud Computing, and the fifth generation of wireless network technology (5G), evolving forms of interaction between humans and machines is on top of the Summit’s agenda. The Summit will organise special sessions on topics such as Government 5.0, Society 5.0, dark factories vs smart factories, enabling fair trade in the digital economy, increasing digital mobility at work to bridge critical skill gaps, drive toward the ‘experience economy’, understanding how developed and emerging economies are investing in green industries in an effort to achieve net-zero emissions, and the future of renewable energy.

The Summit will also hold three Global Panorama Sessions examining how digital technologies can drive prosperity in Africa and the Middle East, the challenges and opportunities facing European and North American manufacturing and the drive toward ‘green’ investments, the different development strategies in Latin America and Southeast Asia and the role of digital connectivity to optimise global integration. With special emphasis on the Summit’s host country, the United Arab Emirates, a dedicated session will explore how the country’s newly launched industrial strategy, ‘Operation 300bn’, aims to transform the nation into a diversified, industrial economy over the next 30 years.

Saed Alawadi, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Industries and Exports, the industrial development and export promotion agency of Dubai Economy, said, “Advanced technologies and innovation hold the potential to transform industrial growth and deliver tremendous benefits to societies across the world. We must strengthen global cooperation to create long-term strategic partnerships that are crucial to accelerating innovation and addressing some of the complex social, economic and environmental challenges the world is facing today.”

Alawadi, who is also a member of the GMIS2021 Organising Committee, added, “By bringing together some of the world’s most visionary leaders under one roof, GMIS2021 offers a truly unique opportunity for dialogue and collective action to build a more innovative, sustainable and resilient global economy. GMIS2021 reflects the UAE’s vision of driving global prosperity for both people and the planet.”

While the main plenary sessions will highlight how collaboration and connectivity are creating robust global economic systems, the Summit’s Strategy Stage will hold discussions focused on mobility and sustainability and their contribution in driving inclusivity and diversity across the industrial sector. In addition, the Innovation Stage will lead discussions around the latest digital ICT trends that are driving improvements across the value chain and how organisations can prepare for the next phase of industrial growth.

GMIS2021 will explore several thematic areas, including navigating health and safety in a cyber-physical environment; Energy as a Service (EaaS); women in leadership; quantum machine learning, digital twins, big data analytics, and immersive technologies, amongst others.

Confirmed to speak at the Summit, Ayumi Moore Aoki, Founder and CEO of Women in Tech, said, “At a time when workplaces are becoming more diverse and an increasing number of women are driving key digital transformations for global enterprises and governments, I am excited to be a part of GMIS2021 and create a shared vision to develop a better future for all. GMIS2021 will be an exciting opportunity to assess our progress so far as one global community, and identify priority growth areas and challenges that we need to address in the coming years.”

Scheduled to be held at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Dubai Exhibition Centre from 22nd to 27th November, 2021, the discussions will take place across several formats, including panel sessions, presentations, interactive workshops, networking events, youth sessions, fireside chats and interviews with prominent industry experts.

In addition, GMIS2021 will host side-events and conferences focused on strengthening commercial links and bilateral relations between different countries, harnessing open innovation to solve the world’s toughest socio-economic challenges, as well as strengthening renewable energy generation for a cleaner and more inclusive energy future. GMIS2021 will also run the UAE’s first-ever technology-driven manufacturing exhibition to showcase innovations from the country’s industrial sector, while highlighting the UAE government’s ‘Make It In The Emirates’ campaign.

Source: Emirates News Agency

Emirates launches new payment method for purchasing air tickets

DUBAI, Emirates has announced the launch of Emirates Pay, a new account-based payment method for purchasing air tickets, which is available for airline customers in Germany and the UK who are purchasing tickets via emirates.com.

Emirates is the world’s first airline to launch this payment alternative powered by a white-label solution jointly developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in partnership with Deutsche Bank.

Source: Emirates News Agency

Mohammed bin Rashid approves formation of Emirates Racing Authority’s board

DUBAI, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, approved a decision to form the Board of Directors of the Emirates Racing Authority (ERA), chaired by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

Sheikh Rashid bin Dalmouk Al Maktoum was named as Vice Chairman, and membership of Matar Suhail Ali Al Yabhouni Al Dhaheri, and Mohammed Saeed Rashid Ali Al Shehhi.

The Emirates Racing Authority is the internationally recognised governing body for horse racing in the UAE. The ERA administers all aspects of the sport, including the implementation and application of the UAE Rules of Racing through its Stewarding and Veterinary Departments. This also includes the licensing of all trainers, jockeys, officials and stable personnel. It also manages and processes the registration of horses for racing, and all entries and declarations for all race meetings in the UAE.

Source: Emirates News Agency

Jebel Ali Power and Desalination Complex enhances generation efficiency, meets Dubai’s energy and water demand

DUBAI, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) continues its efforts to develop its infrastructure to keep pace with the growing demand for electricity and water and provide its services according to the highest standards of availability, reliability, efficiency, and quality for over a million customers in Dubai.

This is part of DEWA’s efforts to support Dubai’s comprehensive and sustainable development and consolidate its position as the best place to live, work, and invest.

DEWA’s Jebel Ali Power and Desalination Complex is one of the key pillars to provide Dubai with high-quality, efficient and reliable electricity and water services. The Complex has been confirmed by Guinness World Records as the largest single-site natural gas power generation facility in the world at a capacity of 9,547 MW.

“We work in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to provide an advanced infrastructure that keeps pace with sustainable development needs. DEWA has outlined expansion plans for the energy and water infrastructure based on demand forecasts until 2030. Innovation is a key pillar in developing our work system and improving our services to the highest standards by increasing the use of disruptive technologies and the latest Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI); Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs); Blockchain; Energy Storage; Internet of Things (IoT), and others,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA.

The Complex’s power generation and water desalination plants use world-class technologies, state-of-the-art smart solutions, and advanced technology systems, managed by Emiratis with the highest skills and capacity. The employees are the most important success factors for DEWA’s Generation division. All of the division’s top management are Emiratis, whilst in managerial positions, they make 32 percent of the workforce. The Generation division supports DEWA’s efforts in increasing the role of Emirati talent. Emirati engineers comprise around 42 percent of the total 74 engineers in the mechanical maintenance department.

DEWA’s optimal fuel heat utilisation is 80 percent-90 percent, which is among the highest in the world. In terms of maintenance, the division made global achievements, including breaking the record for gas turbine and desalination unit maintenance. It took only 11 working days for a major overhaul of a gas turbine beating the previous record of 32 days. The water desalination unit’s annual overhaul took only 11 working days, beating the previous record of 23 days. DEWA has become a global benchmark for the maintenance of gas turbine and water desalination plants. This has helped DEWA achieve an availability of 99.73 percent and a reliability score of 99.96 percent in the summer of 2020, which are among the highest rates in the world.

Nasser Lootah, Executive Vice President of Generation at DEWA, said that DEWA’s implementation of the latest innovative technologies has resulted in improving generation efficiency by 33.41 percent in 2020 compared to 2006. This resulted in considerable financial savings and reduced carbon emissions by 31 percent. This is equivalent to planting 327 million trees to offset the CO2 emissions. Nitrogen oxide emissions were reduced by 74 percent and sulphur dioxide by 99 percent.

Source: Emirates News Agency

Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy board discusses priorities during first meeting

DUBAI, The newly formed board of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, one of the three chambers under the recently restructured Dubai Chambers, today held its first meeting at the organisation’s headquarters, where it discussed the chamber’s priorities and plans for the rest of the year.

The meeting, headed by Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, was attended by board members Ahmad Abdullah bin Byat; Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori; Khalid Ahmed Al Tayer; Rashid Abdullah Al Ghurair; Fadi Ghandour; Mona Ataya; Rashid Mohamed Alabbar; Ronaldo Mouchawar; Mudassir Sheikha; Mansour Al Habtoor; Elissa Freiha; Dany Farha; and Hind Abdul Hamied Seddiqi. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dubai Chamber), also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Ahmad Abdullah bin Byat was named Vice Chairman of the board of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, while board members discussed the various roles that the chamber will play in enhancing Dubai’s value proposition and economic competitiveness, in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

Announced earlier this year, the directives established a new structure for Dubai Chamber comprising three chambers – namely, Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dubai Chamber of International Trade, and Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy.

During the meeting, Al Olama announced that the board has adopted a new roadmap with the aim of accelerating the growth of Dubai’s digital economy and doubling the number of digital companies operating in the emirate in the coming years.

“This roadmap will elevate Dubai’s position as a global leader in digital economy, and attract specialised talent, leading companies and new investments to the market. Homegrown success stories such as Careem and Souq have boosted Dubai’s appeal as a hub for e-commerce and digital economy, and we hope to raise the bar even higher by attracting other global players that can support the emirate’s digital economy ambitions and innovation ecosystem,” said Al Olama.

He noted that the board of directors of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy will work towards achieving other key objectives, such as fostering best practices and partnerships, organising roadshows, lobbying and policy advocacy, market creation, self-regulation, training and business promotion. In addition, he noted that the board would review and approve new initiatives and programmes designed to support Dubai’s digital economy objectives, provide feedback on legislation and regulatory changes and identify market challenges and opportunities.

The formation of three chambers of commerce is aimed at supporting international trade and the digital economy and a five-year plan to increase Dubai’s foreign trade from AED 1.4 trillion to AED 2 trillion over the next five years.

Source: Emirates News Agency