Every year, Gulf citizens collectively hold our breath, hoping that a specific 24-hour period ends in a better way than it started. This day starts tomorrow at the Gulf Cooperative Council summit in Abu Dhabi, where the last leg of the Formula One Grand Prix was held last month. But unlike the competitors in that race, we can all emerge winners from this upcoming event. Read more »
The National
The other special relationship: the UAE and the UK
At a reception earlier this year in the British Embassy in Dubai, the newly appointed ambassador, Dominic Jermey, referred to London as the “eighth emirate” due to the close relationship between both countries. Many people aren’t aware of just how close this relationship is today. Read more »
Entrepreneurial Arabs Will Make It Better For The Next Generation
The first few days of November have quickly become known as Entrepreneurship Week in Dubai. The Dubai School of Government kicked off the week with a panel on women’s entrepreneurship in the Gulf, featuring leading businesswomen from Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the region. The next day at the Young Arab Leaders Entrepreneurship Summit, cross-generational leadership was represented, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and his son Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan attending. Read more »
A Monument of Tolerance in the Heart of Dubai
Nestled in one of Bur Dubai’s older districts is one of the emirate’s best kept architectural secrets: the Ismaili Centre of Dubai. It is a 13,000-square-meter structure designed by the Egyptian duo Rami El Dahan and Soheir Farid, who drew inspiration from Cairo’s Fatimid mosques. Read more »
The sponsorship system is on the wrong side of history
UAE law obliges expatriates who care to reside and do business in the country to either do so through a partnership with a UAE national in which the expat can own up to 49 per cent, or through a sponsorship system that allows the expat to own the entire business, though not on paper, provided they pay a fee to a UAE national. This fee can range from as low as a thousand dirhams a year and go up to several hundred thousand, depending on the size of the business. This sponsorship system is on the wrong side of history. If the federal government doesn’t end it, then international labour laws will probably do so. Read more »
Linking capital’s knowledge hubs can fulfil its vision
Even to the casual observer, the past few years have witnessed a seismic shift in Abu Dhabi’s efforts to create a knowledge-based economy. Read more »