Day: June 21, 2023

DUBAI, 21st June, 2023 (WAM) — The Dubai Centre for Family Businesses has commenced its activities – under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers – with the launch of the Governance Series, a series of educational sessions focusing on key issues influencing the success of family businesses. The sessions will explore topics such as UAE laws and the effective implementation of governance, with the goal of supporting strong succession planning and contributing to the continuity and sustainability of family businesses. The inaugural event, which attracted around 100 participants, provided a comprehensive overview of the Federal Decree-Law No. 37 of 2022 in relation to Family Companies and Law No. 9 of 2020 regulating family ownership in Dubai. In addition, the session enabled attendees to network with fellow members and engage in an insightful panel discussion with distinguished experts sharing their diverse perspectives on the new law. The event began with a presentation from the Al Tamimi and Company law firm, which provided an overview of the legal and legislative ecosystem for family businesses in Dubai. Key aspects of the two laws were also reviewed, together with the rules and procedures governing and regulating the work of family businesses operating in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). This was followed by a panel discussion featuring representatives from Al Tamimi and Company, DIFC, and Hawkamah, which explored the role of the two pieces of legislation in enhancing the sustainability of family businesses and promoting good governance. Abdul Aziz Abdulla Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Chambers, commented, “The Dubai Centre for Family Businesses offers an integrated system of support and training programmes on issues of strategic importance to all family businesses. The launch of the Governance Series marks the beginning of the Centre’s activities, which will focus on developing effective governance frameworks and systems to be adopted by family businesses to ensure a smooth succession process between generations and promote their growth and sustainability.” The Governance Series will focus on laws affecting family businesses and explore best governance practices, which play an important role in succession planning. The sessions are designed to showcase the benefits of adopting strong governance principles and will enable the family business community to learn more about how to ensure the effective implementation of governance at the company, ownership, and family levels. Six sessions will be organised as part of the Governance Series during 2023 encompassing a variety of topics and key stakeholders. The initiative is set to raise awareness on the services offered by the Dubai Centre for Family Businesses, highlight its support to family-owned businesses, and create networking opportunities. To help build capacity and promote best practices, the Governance Series will also feature insightful sessions with representatives from successful local, regional, and global family businesses, who will discuss their experiences and areas of expertise with participants.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)

ABU DHABI, 21st June, 2023 (WAM) Etihad Airways announced its preparation to welcome more than 4 million passengers at Abu Dhabi International Airport during the summer season between 20th June and 30th September 2023. A high volume of travellers will be joining locally in Abu Dhabi, with the remainder connecting from across Etihad’s extensive network of 66 destinations, including new summer routes to Lisbon, Malaga and Mykonos, which launched over the weekend. Etihad’s upgraded online check-in allows guests to complete passport and visa checks prior to reaching the airport. The Auto Doc Check feature ensures guests have met all relevant travel and visa requirements for a hassle-free airport experience. In addition, the airline’s self-service bag drop facility provides a quicker and more efficient check-in process, accommodating a greater number of guests and minimising queue times. Once checked-in online, the self-service facilities allow travellers to seamlessly retrieve their booking, print the bag-tag and process their bags on time. Shaeb Al Najjar, General Manager of Hub Operations at Etihad Airways, said, “We are also looking to welcome pilgrims, whether they are starting their journey from the UAE or connecting from other destinations across our extensive network. Thanks to Etihad’s award-winning cabin crew, family-friendly offerings, and cabin propositions, guests can expect the best travel experiences. By embracing cutting-edge technologies, we can deliver a more seamless and personalised experience for our guests.” Rola AlGhoul

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)

The US Agency for International Development (USAID), signed a set of agreements to support some well-established Jordanian companies, to raise their competitiveness and increase exports to ensure business growth and create more jobs. These agreements, signed through the USAID’s Economic Reform Activity (ERA), aim to achieve comprehensive and sustainable economic growth at the national level with an active private sector participation, in order to achieve the economic modernization vision goals and outputs. The ERA is based on several themes, such as developing institutional capacities, reforming policies, facilitating investments and promoting exports, in addition prioritization and enhancing the competitiveness of the economic environment. Among these themes is working with companies that meet specific requirements, such as employing more than 250 Jordanian men and women, exporting no less than 15 per cent of their annual sales, and other standards and requirements. The ERA signed an agreement with Crystel, a global company for support services and integrated call center management, to help it develop its marketing strategy by understanding and studying opportunities in the regional market and determining how to leverage them to create more job opportunities, given that provided jobs for more than 1,800 Jordanian employees, both men and women. “The grant will support Crystel to benefit from regional demand and to remain one of the leading companies in the Middle East,” said USAID Economic Reform Activity (ERA) Director, Tracy Shank, explaining that “the program’s work with Jordanian companies is in itself an investment in the future of Jordan and its people.” For her part, Crystal Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Co-founder, Zeena Majali , said, “The company seeks, through this grant, to develop its strategy to expand its business at the international level and attract more businesses and economic activities to Jordan, thus providing job opportunities for Jordanian youth.” The USAID ERA operates according to the Memorandum of Understanding for economic development, signed between the Jordanian and American governments, through which programs and projects are funded throughout the Kingdom.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh initiated a series of discussions with Jordanian youth, titled “Modernization Visions: Youth are the Priority”, on Wednesday. The inaugural session took place at the University of Jordan and was attended by numerous university students from central governorates. The dialogue, moderated by Hani Al-Badri and attended by various ministers along with the President of the University of Jordan, saw the Prime Minister emphasizing the crucial role of youth in shaping the nation’s future. Khasawneh highlighted recent constitutional and legislative changes that empower the youth to assume decision-making positions, such as the reduction of the minimum candidacy age for elections to 25 years, and the mandating of youth representation in political parties. “As a result of the constitutional amendments and in line with political modernization efforts, our youth now have the right to run for parliamentary membership at the age of twenty-five, down from thirty,” Khasawneh stated. He announced that 27 parties have already adjusted their membership to include at least 20% of youth and women, providing younger generations an opportunity to actively participate in the forthcoming elections. With the constitutional due date for parliamentary elections set for the period between July 10 and November 10, 2024, Khasawneh expressed his anticipation for active youth participation, both in candidacy and voter turnout. The Prime Minister also discussed the three paths of political modernization – political vision, economic vision, and the roadmap for modernizing the public sector – as outlined by His Majesty King Abdullah II. These paths aim to create an enabling environment for youth and stimulate their active involvement. Khasawneh acknowledged the disenchantment amongst the youth due to limited resources, regional challenges, and forced migrations that have impacted job opportunities. He committed to restoring trust through a calculated and gradual approach based on measurable and achievable programs. Addressing Jordan’s resilience in the face of existential threats in past decades, Khasawneh asserted faith in the capabilities of the youth, stating, “We have youth capabilities and energies capable of overcoming all difficulties.” He added that latent energies that were previously underutilized due to inadequate decision-making would be employed to serve the national interest. He urged the youth to participate in political life, as they are the engine of change, and stressed on the need to improve the low participation rates witnessed in the past. Responding to a survey that revealed 81.6% of participants had read the reference documents for the comprehensive modernization visions, the Prime Minister appreciated the youth’s eagerness to partake in the modernization journey. Khasawneh outlined the ambitious yet realistic economic modernization vision, which includes increasing the economic growth rate to 5.5%, providing one million job opportunities within ten years, and attracting investments worth 41 billion dinars during this period. He underscored that these visions transcend individual governments as they are interconnected and span a decade. “The objectives of the economic modernization vision are ambitious, and if 70-80% of these objectives are achieved, then this is an achievement and success,” said the Prime Minister. He emphasized Jordan’s wealth in human resources, capable of innovation and driving modernization and development projects. Khasawneh refuted allegations that the national employment initiative failed to generate the projected 50,000 jobs within the first six months. He underscored the fact that the plan’s objectives are set for a 10-year period, emphasizing that the targets wouldn’t necessarily be met evenly over this duration. Addressing the nation, the Prime Minister said, “We constantly strive to ensure a brighter future for our citizens,” reinforcing his belief in nurturing hope from a profound comprehension of the nation’s youth’s patriotic sentiments and His Majesty’s dedication to enhancing the living conditions of Jordanians. Khasawneh reassured public sector employees that the proposed modernization roadmap would not infringe upon their job rights, nor would it lead to layoffs or staffing reductions. He noted that the modernization dialogue predominantly focused on organizational structure reform, despite it being a minor aspect in comparison to other, more crucial elements, such as digitization, policy and decision-making, human resources, legislation, institutional culture, and service improvements. Drawing attention to the plan’s inherent flexibility, the Prime Minister highlighted that the government had relinquished the controversial idea of disbanding the Ministry of Labor. This move followed a study by the Economic and Social Council, which found that a significant 86% of the respondents opposed the ministry’s abolishment, prompting a policy reversal. By the close of the year, Khasawneh announced, the role of the Civil Service Bureau will be phased out and rebranded as the Service and Public Administration Authority. He noted that the shift would lead to more public office appointments through free competition, while safeguarding existing Bureau records and applicants’ rights. Registration for new applications would be halted, and future appointments would be based on yearly contracts, subject to renewal on the merit of performance and objective assessments. Furthermore, the Prime Minister indicated a propensity to eliminate the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, in favor of an overarching council for higher education. He stressed the necessity of reshaping academic specializations and educational outputs to align with the evolving labor market needs. He underscored the importance of focusing on emergent, in-demand fields like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

Source: Jordan News Agency