Category: News

The Central Bank of Egypt announced that Egypt had obtained a deposit of $700 million from Libya by the end of 2022.

The Bank said in a report yesterday that Libya’s total deposits with it amounted to $900 million in September last year.

The bank stated that short-term deposits from Arab countries recorded more than $14 billion, compared to $13 billion at the end of last September, while long-term deposits from Arab countries stabilized at $15 billion.

Source: Libyan News Agency

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Najla Al-Manqoush, arrived yesterday in Saudi Arabia, to participate in the Arab-Pacific Ministerial meeting.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its Twitter that the meeting will be held today, Monday.

Source: Libyan News Agency

DUBAI, 12th June, 2023 (WAM) — Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance, in partnership with Hamdan bin Rashid Centre for Giftedness and Creativity, has announced the launch of the third season of the “Future Science Challenge” competition across the Gulf region. The competition serves as a dynamic platform designed to foster the mastery of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things principles, with a strong emphasis on cultivating multidisciplinary learning approaches among exceptionally talented students. The competition aims to stimulate the talented students’ innovation within the fields of science and technology, encouraging them to apply their knowledge in practical problem-solving through a series of invigorating contests and challenges that nurture their cognitive abilities, cultivate new skills, and facilitate the sharing of their perspectives and insights with their communities. Ultimately, this ambitious initiative aims to unlock their innovation potential, catalysing a future with boundless creativity and groundbreaking discoveries. Dr. Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General of Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance, said that the competition seeks to empower these bright minds to refine their talents within the captivating realm of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, thereby equipping them with the essential skills and competencies demanded by the professions of tomorrow. Dr. Al Suwaidi added, “This remarkable competition comes at a crucial juncture where technology has become an indispensable facet of our existence. The pervasive influence of artificial intelligence and its multifaceted applications across domains such as healthcare, environment, education, finance, and entertainment have rendered it an essential component of our lives. Therefore, the significance of this competition lies in its relentless pursuit of nurturing future generations equipped with the capability to embrace the rapid scientific and technological advancements of our contemporary world. By doing so, we aim to foster their invaluable contributions to our societies, elevate our region’s global competitiveness, and instigate positive transformation through innovation and creativity.” This third season of the Future Science Challenge competition is launched under the theme “Towards a More Sustainable Future,” in complete alignment with the visionary goals of UAE, which has designated 2023 as the Year of Sustainability. Participating students will be encouraged to explore and devise sustainable solutions and applications within omes, water conservation, and shopping, channelling their inventive spirit towards nurturing a more ecologically conscious and responsible future. The competition encompasses two distinct categories: the Junior category, tailored for students aged 10 to 13, and the Senior category, designed for professionals aged 14 to 17. Participating teams will dedicate their efforts to sustainability, employing their ingenuity and technical prowess to conceptualise and execute innovative projects utilising the cutting-edge technologies of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. Each submission must include an informative project outline accompanied by an illustrative poster that encapsulates the research process, methodology, design, and results. Participants will be able to engage in practical training, showcase their projects, and be eligible for prestigious awards commensurate with their demonstrated efforts and achievements. Invitations to participate in the competition have been extended to Emirates Schools Establishment, Emirates Association for the Talented, Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Sharjah Private Education Authority, Emirates Science Club, Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Centre for Giftedness and Cretivity, from the UAE. Additionally, the Ministry of Education from the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Ministry of Education and King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundations For Giftedness and Creativity from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education from the State of Qatar, and Sabah Al Ahmad Centre for Giftedness and Creativity from the State of Kuwait, as well as the Ministry of Education from the Sultanate of Oman have been invited to participate in the competition.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)

ABU DHABI,12th June, 2023 (WAM) — Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company Masdar has signed a roadmap for developing up to 1 gigawatt (GW) wind power plant in Kazakhstan to support the country’s goal of achieving half its energy mix from renewables by 2050. The Central Asian country is a key strategic market for Masdar, the UAE’s flagship renewable energy company, which has been steadily investing in the region in recent years. The roadmap for developing the up to 1 GW wind project with a battery energy storage system (BEES) was signed by four partners on the sidelines of the Astana International Forum. Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, witnessed the signing. The agreement was signed by Masdar; the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan; the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund (KIDF) Management Company Ltd.; and Samruk-Kazyna, a joint stock company sovereign wealth fund. Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate, said, “The UAE and Masdar are proud to be supporting Kazakhstan’s renewable energy goals. This wind project, which will generate up to 1 GW of clean electricity to power homes and cut emissions, shows sustainable development in action. To meet the Paris Agreement goals to keep 1.5 within reach, humanity needs to take many bold steps, including tripling worldwide renewable energy capacity by the end of this decade. As proud hosts of COP28, the UAE is deeply committed to investing in and partnering with countries to boost clean energy around the world.” Kazakhstan aims to become carbon neutral by 2060 and is targeting renewable electricity generation of 50 percent by 2050. The up to 1 GW wind farm, with BESS, is Masdar’s first project in the country. In addition to the roadmap, Samruk-Kazyna and Masdar signed a collaboration agreement for the project. The roadmap signing builds upon an earlier agreement secured between Masdar and its Kazakh partners during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January 2023. Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, said, “Masdar is very excited about its first project in Kazakhstan. We aim to deliver a world-class wind plant and battery energy storage system that will support Kazakhstan’s energy transition and advancement of its net zero ambitions. We welcome the signing of the project roadmap which further strengthens our relationship with Kazakhstan and demonstrates our commitment to helping the Kazakh government achieve its clean energy objectives.” Marat Tulebaev, Chief Executive Officer of the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund (KIDF) Management Company Ltd., said, “KIDF is a government risk mitigation mechanism designed to provide comfort to foreign investors and global players like Masdar by co-investing in projects. We are pleased to note the progress of the project for the construction of up to 1GW wind farm with the first phase to be developed in the Jambyl region. This is a significant step forward in developing the joint implementation of Masdar’s first wind project in our country. We look forward to strengthening our partnership in the future and believe that this project meets our country’s growing demand for electricity by helping to shift the energy supply model towards renewable energy sources.” Nurlan Zhakupov, Chief Executive Officer of Samruk-Kazyna, said, “I am glad that the Fund has now become a part of the project. Today, we consolidated this by signing a Collaboration Agreement between the Fund and Masdar, which will be the starting point for further cooperation. We also signed the Calendar Action Plan (Roadmap) between the Fund, the Ministry of Energy, KIDF and Masdar, indicating the main activities, responsible parties and deadlines.” Abundant in wind and sunshine, the Central Asian region is a strategic market for Masdar. In April 2023, Masdar reached a financial close on three solar power projects in Uzbekistan with a combined capacity of around 900 MW. Once operational, the plants will generate enough electricity to power over one million homes and displace over one million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, making it the region’s largest solar power programme. In Azerbaijan, Masdar is developing the 230 MW Garadagh solar power plant and has signed agreements for onshore wind and solar projects and integrated offshore wind and green hydrogen projects, with a total combined capacity of 4 GW. Established in 2006, Masdar is the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse. It is active in more than 40 countries and has invested in a portfolio of renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of more than 20 GW. Masdar is committed to achieving at least 100 GW of total renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)

Secretary-General of the Research Development and Innovation Council (QRDI) Eng. Omar Ali Al Ansari affirmed that artificial intelligence (AI) science and the digital revolution related to “metaverse” and “blockchain” are among the most important technological transformations in the current era, due to its contributions to the development of scientific research and innovation, through its ability to analyze huge amounts of data and process them faster and more effectively, which leads to the discovery of new patterns in the data and contributes to innovative scientific discoveries.

Al Ansari said in an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency that the digital revolution and Blockchain technology will provide new levels of security, transparency and security for information, which contributes to the development of methods of dealing with information and data, storing and exchanging them. It also enhances trust and cooperation and opens new horizons in this field.

Al Ansari pointed out that QRDI Council’s mission lies in providing a fertile intellectual environment that contributes to leading the scientific research and innovation community in the State of Qatar, in line with the promotion of economic growth, indicating that the Council considers research, development and innovation the basis for sustainable growth and economic transformation towards knowledge and innovation in the country.

He explained that the council aims to promote technological development by stimulating and nurturing talent, develop the infrastructure to absorb and benefit from this development, and pave the way for exploring new areas of research, as well as expanding the knowledge of the research and development community in the areas of artificial intelligence, big data analysis, and others.

In this context, he referred to the Council’s endeavor to provide new opportunities for cooperation with relevant authorities from various countries of the world, with the aim of exchanging information and expertise and promoting scientific and technological progress.

He stressed the need to be wary of the social, ethical and legal challenges and implications of artificial intelligence that may arise as a result of these new technologies, and ensuring that it is used in responsible ways that achieve the desired benefit, in a way that preserves moral and social values, and achieves sustainable development.

Al Ansari pointed out that the QRDI Council has adopted a unified national strategy for innovation and scientific research, in order to maximize the impact of the research and innovation sector on the future of the national economy, noting that the Council launched the Qatar Strategy for Research, Development and Innovation 2030, which consists of seven strategic transformation axes.

He stressed that the Council plays an influential role in encouraging innovation led by the private sector to drive economic development and diversification, by supporting the business sector to be more competitive, localizing of research, development and innovation activities for international companies, and transforming Qatar into a prestigious regional innovation center.

He added that the Council is about to launch a new program package to support innovation in the private sector, as part of the third national development strategy, where it provided new platforms and programs in order to explore innovation opportunities in a limited range of major national companies and some government agencies, which establishes the importance of adopting innovative solutions in order to build new competitive advantages to raise its production efficiency.

In this context, Al Ansari emphasized the achievement of these platforms and programs and their success in attracting more than 30 companies from the private sector based on technology development, to provide solutions related to innovation opportunities, as it contributed to creating a promising market for the adoption of innovative solutions, while these platforms and programs are witnessing an increase in demand by a large number of major national companies to benefit from them.

He pointed out that QRDI Council is currently studying projects submitted by some companies based on technology development, in order to implement projects to test and develop innovative solutions in the country. These projects relate to opportunities to expand and localize innovation centers for international companies, in order to develop, adapt and test new technology on the land of Qatar, in addition to concluding long-term partnerships with major national companies and institutions with the aim of achieving joint development and early adoption of innovative technology and solutions.

Secretary-General of QRDI Council explained in his interview with QNA that this development would create a unique market in the region, targeting early adoption of the technology developed in Qatar, and expanding the creation of new economic activities related to innovation in the business sector, emphasizing the Councils commitment to implementing the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Strategy 2030 in cooperation with all partners and stakeholders, which resulted in Qatar achieving a qualitative leap in the Global Innovation Index (GII), advancing 16 places and becoming 52nd globally.

He stated that Qatar’s electronic portal for research, development and innovation has become a unique model in the region, and one of the few distinguished platforms at the global level.

Al Ansari indicated that the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Portal is a source for all records of innovation and scientific research projects in the country. According to the latest statistics in the first quarter of the year 2023, the portal contains 2863 projects, 11869 research publications, 266 new facilities, 4273 research devices, and 268 research services. The portal also connects more than 51 government entities, companies, universities, institutes, research laboratories, and others.

He pointed out that the State of Qatar has a strong economy that has been invested in building a distinguished infrastructure, referring to the council’s endeavor to create a market by promoting institutional innovation and attracting multinational companies to establish research and development centers, support emerging companies in the field of technology, research and development, and increase funding and government support.

He pointed out that QRDI Council has launched several initiatives within the framework of innovation programs, among them is the Qatar Open Innovation (QOI) program, which aims to support large companies and government institutions to find innovative solutions provided by a group of local and international innovators. He indicated that this program links the strategic entities within Qatar with “opportunities”, as these opportunities are identified, framed and announced, leading to the evaluation of the submitted offers, and giving the winners the opportunity to work with those strategic entities, to experiment with innovative solutions.

Al Ansari explained that QOI program has received, since its launch, more than 400 submissions from innovators across Qatar and the world, where the QRDI Council cooperated with a large number of major national institutions and companies, ministries and government agencies, all of which focused on the areas of health, energy, environment, transportation, education and smart cities, noting that the council announced during the past months that 9 companies won this grant.

He pointed out that the Product Development Management Program, which is being implemented in cooperation with Qatar Development Bank, has attracted 25 participants from 11 small and medium local companies. About 30 senior government employees (directors and heads of departments) from 10 ministries participated in the Government Innovation Leadership Program.

Source: Qatar News Agency

WASHINGTON DC, 12th June, 2023 (WAM) — Ahood AlZaabi, Director of the United Nations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network (FPN) meeting co-chaired by the United States and Romania and held in Washington DC, from 6th to 9th June 2023. The meeting aimed to promote and advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda as a foundational framework for policy development. During the meeting, the roles and responsibilities of focal points for the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network were discussed, key achievements of member states in implementing national plans related to Security Council Resolution 1325 were reviewed, and opportunities for collaboration were addressed to focus the efforts of centres of excellence on the WPS agenda. Participants from the parliaments of FPN Member States were also invited to exchange views on efforts to implement the WPS agenda through parliamentary work. AlZaabi stressed during the meeting that the WPS agenda is a priority for the UAE and provided an overview of the objectives of the National Action Plan for implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. She also explained the role of the General Women’s Union in the establishment of the Fatima bint Mubarak Centre for Women, Peace and Security, which aims to disseminate knowledge and promote the exchange of information and best practices to develop the Women, Peace and Security field. She also highlighted the Centre’s objective to train women to work in the military, security, and peacebuilding fields and build capacity, especially among those working in government agencies that focus on the WPS agenda to ensure support for women’s participation in leadership positions in peace processes at the local and international levels. AlZaabi also participated in the session on Women, Peace and Security Sustainability, during which she shared best practices undertaken by the UAE in its continuous efforts to support the WPS agenda in the long term. She also discussed the UAE’s efforts to enhance ways to address challenges to the WPS agenda. She stated that the UAE was one of the founding members of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network and believes that the network is an important platform for partners to advance sustainable efforts towards the WPS agenda. She stressed that the UAE, through its membership in the UN Security Council, seeks to create opportunities for progress in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment while fostering a safe and inclusive environment for women globally.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)