Sharjah delegation arrives in US for roadshow

Source: Gulf News (Read full story)

Sharjah’s largest ever delegation, comprising more than 20 government and private organisations, arrived in Washington, D.C. on Friday, for the first roadshow in the US organised by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) under the slogan, ‘Sharjah — Promising Opportunities, Global Horizons’. Taking place from Monday until October 4, the roadshow aims to promote Sharjah’s investment, business and cultural offerings — as well as to explore avenues of cooperation with US companies and organisations.

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GCC to discuss single fuel price

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

Oil ministers in GCC countries will discuss steps that have been taken toward finalizing a study on a single price of petroleum products in GCC countries next Tuesday during the 32nd Petroleum Cooperation Committee meeting. The meeting will be held in Riyadh at the headquarters of the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Oil analyst Rashid Abanami expects the process to contribute to saving 30 percent of the total consumption of fuel in Saudi Arabia, which is smuggled to neighboring countries to be sold at higher prices. “A unified market for petroleum products could exist within the next six years,” said Abanami.

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UAE’s nuclear programme follows highest safety standards

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

The UAE has affirmed that it has taken significant steps to develop its nuclear power programme following the highest safety standards in accordance with international best practices and guidelines laid down by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “My delegation would like to reiterate the UAE’s commitment to working with the IAEA towards the strengthening of nuclear safety, security and safeguards worldwide, while promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” said Ambassador Hamad Al Kaabi, the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the IAEA, in the UAE statement at the 57th session of the IAEA’s general conference in Vienna on Wednesday.

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UAE to announce bank exposure rules

Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)

The United Arab Emirates central bank is expected to announce within one or two months rules restricting the amount of exposure which banks can have to the debt of government-related entities (GREs), a top commercial banker said yesterday. Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, head of the national banking industry association and chief executive of Mashreq Bank, told reporters that each bank would then discuss the time frame for its compliance with the central bank on a case-by-case basis. “It is already finalised by the central bank. Now the central bank just has to announce it – I think in the next month, two months max. It’s already passed the board,” he said.

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GCC security pact endorsed

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

 Saudi Arabia ratified a GCC security agreement on Monday, which was passed by the Supreme Council at the Gulf Cooperation Council during its 33rd session held in Bahrain last December. “The agreement focuses on cooperation among member countries in law enforcement and information exchange,” said Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja. Member countries will cooperate with one another in tracking down criminals and law violators irrespective of their nationalities. The agreement also allows GCC countries to take action against citizens and foreigners who try to interfere in their internal affairs. They will also exchange information related to wanted citizens and foreigners.

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UAE stocks rally on Syria deal

Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)

Dubai shares recorded a strong rally on Sunday as the threat of an imminent attack on Syria eased following an agreement between the US and Russia to destroy the strife-torn country’s chemical weapons. The benchmark DFM General Index, which had been on a consistent slide over the past several weeks since reaching a five-year high on August 2, jumped 4.8 per cent to 2,659.93 points, the highest in almost three weeks as shares in Union Properties hit their highest level in more than three years.

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Egyptians in Qatar concerned but divided over crackdown

Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)

Egyptian expatriates in Qatar, while obviously unhappy about what is happening back home, say they expect the situation to become clearer today as the Muslim Brotherhood has called for protests after Friday prayers all over the country. “We have to see how people react after Friday prayers today to Wednesday’s military action that saw hundreds of people killed and many others injured,” said an Egyptian, requesting anonymity. He said he didn’t anticipate further violence as both sides, the army and the Brotherhood, should now take defensive positions after Wednesday’s bloodbath.

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‘Al-Douri apologized to former premier for Iraqi Invasion’

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

Kuwait’s former prime minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah received an official apology from a senior Ba’ath Party figure for the Iraqi invasion to Kuwait on August 2, 1990, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported yesterday quoting an Iraqi lawmaker. Furthermore, MP Hassan Al-Alawi, himself a former Ba’athist who defected from the group before former President Saddam Hussein assumed power, claimed possession of ‘secrets regarding the Iraqi – Kuwaiti relationship’ which he said could lead to “catastrophic results” if exposed.

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