GCC investors plan logistics firm

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

Gulf investors are studying the possibility of establishing a logistics services company that would help streamline the flow of goods across the borders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). A feasibility study is currently under way, Ali Abdul Latif Al-Misnad, a board member of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told local media. He said investments in the services sector ranges between $50 billion and $100 billion. The proposed company would regulate the activities of companies and institutions involved in the GCC transport sector and determine how to remove obstacles facing investors, Al-Misnad said. The study emerged from an initial agreement by GCC investors to establish a private services company with branches in all six countries.

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Speaker seeks united Arab-Turkey stance on regional issues at IPU

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

Visiting Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim said yesterday that his meetings with Turkish officials and members of parliament resulted in a mechanism to transform talks into positive tangible results for both sides. “We move on to the 129th Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference in Geneva next week, and we will go there with a more united stance between the Arab and Muslim regions, particularly as Kuwait leads the Arab group at this conference, “ he said. The chief parliamentarian was referring to Ankara’s views during talks he had held with Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his counterpart Cemil Cicek on Syria and the growing assaults on Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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Oman Cuts Interest Cap On Personal Loans To 6%

Source: Gulf Business (Read full story)

Oman’s central bank on Wednesday cut the ceiling on interest rates that commercial banks can charge on new personal loans to six per cent from seven per cent, to ease the financial burden on borrowers in the sultanate, state news agency ONA reported. “This decrease comes as part of a regular review that the bank does on personal loan rates through the continuous analysis and statistics of the sector indicators,” ONA quoted the central bank board as saying. “The board intends to make sure that the cost of debt in the local market is at levels that encourage savings and maintain stability in prices.” Commercial banks in Oman charged local currency borrowers 5.464 per cent on average in July, the lowest rate since at least 2002, the latest central bank data show.

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Qatar probes Guardian’s allegations

Source: Gulf Today (Read full story)

Qatar has named a global law firm to probe media claims that migrant labourers working on massive infrastructure projects for the 2022 football World Cup are being exploited. The Gulf emirate’s labour ministry named DLA Piper “to independently review all the claims made, and to report on their veracity to the ministry,” Ali Al Kholeifi, the ministry’s international affairs adviser, said late on Wednesday. The ministry will “take all necessary measures to respond to these allegations once the report is ready,” the QNA state news agency quoted him as saying. “The government of Qatar takes its international commitments seriously, especially following recent allegations of violations” of the international convention on forced labour, Kholeifi said.

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Sheikha Lubna praises UAE’s strengthening ties with EU

Source: The National (Read full story)

Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, the Minister of Development, chaired a roundtable discussions between UAE and European Parliament in Brussels and praised the strengthening of relations between the two. Sheikha Lubna re-affirmed that the foreign policy of the UAE is firmly based on the solid and clear principles of mutual respect, promotion of cooperation and peaceful solutions to conflicts and issues as well as contribution to the achievement of international peace and security. The meeting on Wednesday sought to discuss issues of partnership and economic cooperation. “The strategic importance of relations between the EU and the UAE cannot be doubted and is reflected in our common values and shared perspective,” Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid said in her speech to the EU Parliament, Kuwait news agency reported.

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Saudi FM scraps UN speech over Syria, Palestine

Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)

Saudi Arabia’s frustration at international inaction over Syria and the Palestinians led it to cancel its speech at the UN General Assembly for the first time this week, a diplomatic source said. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal had been scheduled to address the assembly on Tuesday afternoon. “The Saudi decision… reflects its dissatisfaction with the position of the UN 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,” said the source. It has repeatedly called on the international community to intervene on behalf of the Syrian rebels and has said Bashar Al Assad must be toppled because his forces have bombarded civilian areas.

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