Day: April 13, 2022

ABU DHABI, The UAE Embassy in Nur Sultan has overseen the distribution of dates provided by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation to the Kazakh people during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Forty tonnes of dates were distributed, in coordination with the Department of Presidential Affairs of Kazakhstan.

Commenting on the distribution, Dr. Mohammed Saeed Al Ariqi, UAE Ambassador to Kazakhstan, said the country is committed to following the approach of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who called for giving and promoting the values of human fraternity.

The UAE and Kazakhstan have deep-rooted ties, he added, stressing that the UAE is keen to enhance their overall relations.

Source: Emirates News Agency

GENEVA, The heads of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and the WTO issued a joint statement on 13 April urging coordinated action to help vulnerable countries address growing threats to food security. The proposed actions include providing emergency food supplies and deploying financial support to households and countries, facilitating unhindered trade, and investing in sustainable food production and nutrition security.

World Bank Group President David Malpass, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, WFP Executive Director David Beasley and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala issued the following joint statement ahead of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group next week: “The world is shaken by compounding crises. The fallout of the war in Ukraine is adding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that now enters its third year, while climate change and increased fragility and conflict pose persistent harm to people around the globe. Sharply higher prices for staples and supply shortages are increasing pressure on households worldwide and pushing millions more into poverty. The threat is highest for the poorest countries with a large share of consumption from food imports, but vulnerability is increasing rapidly in middle-income countries, which host the majority of the world’s poor. World Bank estimates warn that for each one percentage point increase in food prices, 10 million people are thrown into extreme poverty worldwide.”

“The rise in food prices is exacerbated by a dramatic increase in the cost of natural gas, a key ingredient of nitrogenous fertilizer. Surging fertilizer prices along with significant cuts in global supplies have important implications for food production in most countries, including major producers and exporters, who rely heavily on fertilizer imports. The increase in food prices and supply shocks can fuel social tensions in many of the affected countries, especially those that are already fragile or affected by conflict.”

“We call on the international community to urgently support vulnerable countries through coordinated actions ranging from provision of emergency food supplies, financial support, increased agricultural production, and open trade. We are committed to combining our expertise and financing to quickly step up our policy and financial support to help vulnerable countries and households as well as to increase domestic agricultural production in, and supply to, impacted countries. We can mitigate balance of payments pressures and work with all countries to keep trade flows open. In addition, we will further reinforce our monitoring of food vulnerabilities and are quickly expanding our multi-faceted policy advice to affected countries guided by the comparative advantages of our respective institutions.”

“We also urge the international community to help support urgent financing needs, including through grants. This should include financing of immediate food supplies, safety nets to address the needs of the poor, and for small farmers facing higher input prices. We also urge all countries to keep trade open and avoid restrictive measures such as export bans on food or fertilizer that further exacerbate the suffering of the most vulnerable people. It is especially important not to impose export restrictions on humanitarian food purchases by the UN’s World Food Program.”

“It is critical to quickly provide support for food insecure countries in a coordinated manner. We stand ready to work together with our multilateral and bilateral partners to help countries address this urgent crisis.”

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, have sent cables to King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of Jordan, congratulating His Majesty on the success of the surgery he’s recently undergone.

The UAE leaders wished King Abdullah continued good health, and Jordan and its people further progress, prosperity, security and safety under his wise leadership.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy chaired the 69th meeting held virtually. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, also took part.

The meeting was attended by Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary-General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, and board members Dawood Al Hajiri, Director-General of Dubai Municipality; Juan-Pablo Freile, General Manager of Dubai Petroleum; and representatives from Dubai Petroleum Establishment.

The meeting discussed several topics including the Dubai Integrated Waste Management Strategy 2021-2041 and the implementation phase of the Dubai Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2021 regulating the provision of district cooling services in Dubai. The meeting also discussed the conversion of the Hassyan Power Complex from clean coal to natural gas.

“In line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, for sustainable development and increase the share of clean and renewable energy, the meeting reviewed plans and the road map for the Dubai Integrated Waste Management Strategy (2021-2041). The Strategy encourages innovation in waste management, recycling, and turning it into energy. It aims to implement long-term projects over the next 20 years by presenting practical solutions to environmental challenges to meet environmental objectives in the government agenda,” said Al Tayer.

“In support of the directives of the wise leadership and to implement the Glasgow Climate Pact issued at COP26, we discussed at the meeting the conversion of the Hassyan power complex from clean coal to natural gas to accelerate Dubai’s transition into net-zero carbon emissions economy,” Al Tayer added.

“The meeting discussed Dubai Municipality’s waste-to-energy project. The waste-to-energy plant will have a great impact in treating organic waste and prevent its burial in traditional landfills. Dubai Municipality intends to achieve its Near-Zero-Waste-to-Landfill goal by 2041. Measures are currently being taken to recycle 50 percent of waste, which will reduce waste treatment and landfill operations,” said Al Muhairbi.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced a donation of AED10 million to contribute to the “1 Billion Meals” initiative, to assist and provide sustainable food support to the underprivileged and most needy groups in 50 countries in the Middle East, North Africa and the world – in particular children, refugees, displaced persons, and victims of disasters and crises.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA, said, “I extend my most sincere congratulations to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, who launched the ‘1 Billion Meals’ initiative.”

He added, “DEWA is honoured to be a major supporter of the initiative, which was launched in conjunction with the Holy Month of Ramadan, and is the biggest humanitarian initiative of its kind in the region and globally. It aims to secure food aid for vulnerable communities regardless of religion, colour, race or culture, and will contribute to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 2030, including the goal of eliminating hunger in the world.”

The initiative, organised by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), is a continuation of last year’s ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign, which ended up distributing 220 million meals, prompting the new goal of one billion meals.

To provide direct access to food supplies for the underprivileged and the undernourished in various parts of the world, the initiative cooperates with the United Nations’ World Food Programme, the Food Banking Regional Network, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UAE Food Bank, as well as a number of charity and humanitarian organisations.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS), a regional leader in banking and finance education and training, hosted a webinar to assess the current cybersecurity challenges that might face the financial institutions and services in the UAE and the importance of having proactive steps to safeguard businesses from cyberattacks.

The virtual session titled ‘The Cybersecurity Challenges and the Protection of the Digital Revolution’ is part of the EIBFS conversational learning initiative, which aims to host periodic talks to cover timely banking and finance-related subjects as part of its community outreach goals.

The webinar drew over 100 participants and a panel of expert speakers including Praveen Vackayil, Senior Manager Digital Trust at PwC (Middle East), Sheikh Shadab Nawaz, Director of KPMG Lower Gulf Limited, Jayakaran Paul, SVP & Head of Cyber Security & IAM at FAB, and was moderated by Chandran S, Director of Cyberfort Digisec Solutions, India.

During the session, the speakers shed the light on the challenges that have arisen due to the ongoing digital revolution characterised by the emergence of cutting-edge technologies such as e-government, e-commerce, blockchains, mobile payments services, online banking and cloud computing, among others.

Experts also discussed why Cyber security threats have been ranked among the top risks facing the world. Saying that intrusions, data breaches, ransomware, defacement, phishing and fraud proliferate, as organisations become more and more reliant on technology causing a surge in cyberattacks exposure. Advising businesses to be more proactive in implementing and testing their cyber defences.

Commenting on the session, Jamal Al Jassmi, General Manager of EIBFS, said, ” Through this thought-provoking webinar, we aim to assist financial services participants in understanding and taking proactive steps to strengthen their cybersecurity in line with the UAE government strategies and initiatives that aim to create a secure and robust cyberinfrastructure to empower both individuals and businesses in the country.

He added, “Our webinar has also shed light on the cybersecurity challenges the financial service providers currently face and ways in which they can overcome them. Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility and we at EIBFS offer a number of programs that discuss the cyber security risks in the banking sector from intermediate to more specialised courses. We hope that our patrons benefit from the important insights that were shared in the session.”

Source: Emirates News Agency