Day: December 7, 2022

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to attend meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to his country’s energy supplies as Beijing tries to revive an economy battered by its strict coronavirus measures.

Saudi and Chinese flags flew Wednesday in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, as he arrived, an honor flight flying over. He waved from his state aircraft then later descended to greet Saudi officials on hand at the airport.

Gulf Arab states are trying to recalibrate their foreign policy as the United States turns its attention to elsewhere in the world.

Russia’s war on Ukraine — and the West’s hardening stance on Moscow — has also left the Arab countries wanting to cement ties with China.

During the visit, Xi is expect to attend the inaugural China-Arab States Summit and a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes the kingdom along with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Though few other details about the visit have emerged, Chinese authorities offered superlatives ahead of the trip.

It’s the “largest and highest-level diplomatic event between China and the Arab world since the founding of the People’s Republic of China and will become an epoch-making milestone in the history of China-Arab relations,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters at a daily briefing on Wednesday.

Whether the meeting reaches those heights, Xi knows he needs that supply of crude oil. China, the world’s largest crude oil importer, relies heavily on Saudi oil, paying tens of billions of dollars annually to the kingdom.

Xi plans to meet both 86-year-old Saudi King Salman, as well as his 37-year-old son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. For Prince Mohammed, hosting Xi boosts his own international profile after being linked to the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Beyond China’s oil purchases, its construction expertise could be tapped as well for Prince Mohammed’s planned $500 billion futuristic city of Neom on the Red Sea. Chinese construction firms have worked elsewhere in Arab countries in the Persian Gulf, particularly in Dubai in the UAE.

Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, also has provided political cover to China over its harsh policies toward Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. More than a million have been sent to detention centers, forced to denounce Islam and swear fealty to Xi and the party.

The trip to Saudi Arabia marks a further move by Xi to restore his global profile after spending most of the pandemic inside China. The visit is his third overseas trip since early 2020. It also comes as Xi, who was granted a third five-year term as leader in October, has faced street protests over his zero-COVID-19 policies that represent the most-significant challenge to his rule.

The political risk consultancy Eurasia Group said in a report that with no major differences between China and Saudi Arabia on human rights, the tone of Xi’s visit is “likely to be much more positive” than the visit earlier this year to the kingdom by U.S. President Joe Biden,

“Nevertheless, the relationship still has a long way to go if it is to become as deep and nuanced as Saudi-U.S. ties,” the report said.

Source: Voice of America

DUBAI, The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) confirmed the new date for the launch attempt of the Emirates Lunar Mission.

The inaugural launch of the Rashid Rover is now scheduled to take place on Sunday, 11th December, 2022, at 11:38 Gulf Standard Time (GST), or 02:38 Eastern US Time.

The initial launch attempt was postponed, allowing SpaceX to perform additional pre-flight checks of the launch vehicle.

Once launched, the integrated spacecraft will take a low-energy route to the moon rather than a direct approach, which means the landing will take about five months after launch, in April 2023.

The launch can be viewed on the MBRSC Livestream at www.mbrsc.ae/lunar

Source: Emirates News Agency

Dubai Customs held a high-level meeting with representatives of free zones in Dubai in which they discussed facilitating customs procedures, and presented the major services provided by Dubai Customs that aim to facilitate business, save time and cost and increase revenues for free zone companies.

The meeting also covered Dubai Customs’ plans to support trade operations in Dubai free zones in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai to raise the value of Dubai trade to AED 2 trillion in the coming period.

Farida Fadhil Al-Muaini, Acting Executive Director of Policies and Legislation Division at Dubai Customs reaffirmed the important role free zones play in boosting the national economy. She pointed out that smart procedures and services provided by Dubai Customs have enhanced the free zone work environment and helped grow re-export operations from Dubai, thus consolidating the emirate’s global position as a main hub for trade and investment.

The meeting was attended by Juma Al Ghaith, Executive Director of Customs Development Division, Dr. Abdullah Busnad, Executive Director of Customs Inspection Division, Rashid Al Sharid, Executive Director, Administration and Finance Division, Yousef Al-Hashimi, (Acting) Executive Director, Customer Management Division, Ahmad Al-Khuroosi, Director of Customs Tariff & Origin Department, Edris Behzad, Director of Client Happiness Department, Adel Al-Suwaidi, Director of Technical Support Department, and representatives of Jebel Ali Free Zone, the International Humanitarian City, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai Development Authority, Meydan, Dubai Commercity, and Dubai South.

Al-Muaini said; “Dubai Customs stands firmly behind the emirate’s efforts to attract new investments into free zones in Dubai through providing world-class services such as authorization certificates which enable these companies speed up customs clearance of their goods, thus reducing the cost and time needed for such activities. Another initiative is the Virtual Stock Guarantee Facility, the first of its kind in the world, which enables Dubai-based free zone companies and customs warehouses to clear goods at re-exportation from free zones or customs warehouses through air and sea ports in Dubai.”

Source: DUBAI CUSTOMS

DUBAI, The Higher Committee for Government Digital Transformation held its first meeting, chaired by Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and The Future and Chairperson of the Committee, with the attendance of Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Teleworking Applications and Vice Chair of the Committee.

During the meeting, the committee showcased 10 projects aimed at strengthening integration, readiness, competitiveness and government digital services, as well as ways of supporting the new generation of government’s smart services.

The meeting was also attended by Majed Sultan Al Mesmar, Director-General of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA); Dr. Mohammed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government; Laila Al Suwaidi, Acting Director-General of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources; Mohamed bin Taliah, Chief of Government Services for the UAE Government; Mariam Mohamed Al Amiri, Assistant Under-Secretary for General Financial Management at the Ministry of Finance; Mohammad Al Zarooni, Deputy Director-General for the Information and Digital Government Sector at the TDRA, and others.

During the meeting, Al Roumi stressed that digital integration, readiness and competitiveness are the foundations of the UAE Government’s new models of digital transformation, adding that the government’s digital transformation and readiness are key pillars of the directives of the UAE’s leadership to implement the 10 principles of the Principles of the 50 and the pillars of the “We the UAE 2031” vision launched by Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, during the UAE Government’s meetings held this year.

The committee’s members discussed the 10 projects aimed at achieving leadership in digital services, to facilitate the lives of people and support the government’s digital integration, readiness and competitiveness, she added.

The UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, approved the formation of the Higher Committee for Government Digital Transformation, headed by Al Roumi and Al Olama, to supervise the governance and development of digital systems used for government services and business operations, as well as to enhance readiness, competitiveness, flexibility and digital harmonisation between projects and digital systems used by federal entities, and raise the efficiency of relevant digital infrastructure and assets.

Source: Emirates News Agency