Feasibility studies for GCC railway project under way
Source: Arab News (Read full story)
Two international firms will conduct feasibility studies for the proposed multibillion-riyal railway project that would link the six-member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), it was revealed at a recent meeting here of the GCC transport ministers. Bahraini Minister of Transport Kamal bin Ahmad said the two companies would conduct technical, consultative and engineering studies. He did not specify a timetable for the start of the project. Bin Ahmad said that Saudi Arabia and Bahrain’s ministries of finance and transport agreed to appoint the General Organization of the King Fahd Causeway as the body to choose the company that would oversee the project. The Bahraini minister said the technical specifications for the project have been drawn up.
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Barclays UAE freezes bank accounts
Source: Gulf News (Read full story)
Barclays UAE started closing accounts on Monday and could potentially lock out 1,500 personal and business customers due to “local and global regulatory requirements”. A spokesperson for Barclays UAE told Gulf News that following a review of accounts in line with local and regulatory requirements, customers had been contacted to update their personal or company details. Failure to update details would result in the account being closed and a managerial cheque issued to the account holder. A maximum of 1,000 personal and 500 business accounts could be closed, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said that the total 1,500 possibly affected accounts represented just 2 per cent of Barclays UAE account and that they would only be closed after the bank “fully exhausted all communication channels.”
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Al Sada calls for added cooperation between Qatar, US energy industries
Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)
The Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada met in Washington the US Energy Secretary Dr Ernest Moniz. The two ministers discussed bilateral ties and cooperation in the energy field as well as a number of relevant issues.Al Sada, who was on a working visit to the US, held talks with senior US government officials, including Ambassador Carlos Pascual, the US State Department’s special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs. Al Sada had earlier called on key players in the American and Qatari energy industry to seize cooperation opportunities in both countries as well as in other parts of the world. He was speaking at reception hosted in his honour by the US-Qatar Business Council, which was attended by 150 business leaders and policy makers across a wide spectrum of sectors.
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Kuwait urged to rein in spending
Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)
Kuwait must rein in public spending, especially on wages, and find new sources of income if it wants to keep its fiscal position strong, the International Monetary Fund said. The OPEC member should also push ahead with its 30 billion dinar ($106 billion) development plan to diversify its heavily oil-reliant economy, boost foreign investment and create jobs, it said. Kuwait has so far enacted little of the plan. Kuwait’s budget surplus is forecast to drop to a still robust 27.4 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year that began in April from 33.4 percent in 2012/13, the IMF said in a statement following regular consultations in Kuwait. But in view of recent sharp rises in current spending and relatively small non-oil revenues, government expenditure is set to exceed oil revenues by 2017/18, raising the risk from any sustained drop in oil prices, it said based on its projections.
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Saudi Arabia cancels UN speech
Source: Gulf News (Read full story)
Saudi Arabia has decided to cancel its speech at the United Nations General Assembly. Abdullah Bin Yahya Al Mouallami, the Saudi permanent ambassador to the UN, said that delivering a speech was an option for states and not an obligation, local Arabic daily Al Riyadh reported on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal was scheduled to deliver the speech on Tuesday. According to reports from New York, the Saudi UN mission in the past handed out copies of the speech if it was not delivered, but opted this year not to have a speech in any form. Diplomatic sources at the UN said that the Saudi decision reflected the kingdom’s dissatisfaction with the positions of the international organisation on Arab and Islamic issues, particularly the issue of Palestine that the UN has not been able to solve in more than 60 years, as well as the Syrian crisis and the suffering of its people subjected for nearly three years to killing and destruction, the Saudi daily said.
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Gulf Arab states uneasy over U.S.-Iran detente
Source: The Daily Star (Read full story)
Gulf Arab states are uneasy about the unexpected overture between Washington and Tehran, fearing any rapprochement will come at the price of concessions to their regional rival, analysts say. The six oil-rich monarchies have “fears and apprehensions” about the dramatic turn in U.S.-Iran policy signaled by last week’s historic phone call between presidents Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani, Gulf Research Center chief Abdul-Aziz Saqr said. “For the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a thawing in the U.S.-Iranian relations could contribute to regional security, but they have reservations over the secrecy that surrounded it, and the nature of concessions,” he said. “There is no rapprochement without concessions,” said Saqr, who is close to government circles in Saudi Arabia.
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