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A delegation of Arab League foreign ministers led by the organisation’s chief arrived in Poland on Tuesday after visiting Russia where they offered to mediate between the two warring nations.
The war has had a devastating financial impact on some Arab nations, particularly Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon and Tunisia, because of their heavy reliance on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine.
Other regional countries including Iraq, Syria and Jordan have also seen food import bills surging, or have been affected by other commodity price rises.
The delegation, led by Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and foreign ministers and senior officials from Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Jordan and the UAE — the current Arab member of the UN Security Council — flew to Warsaw from Moscow where they held talks with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
They met Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said they discussed “Arab efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis and review Poland’s measures to facilitate the transit of Arab citizens who fled Ukraine.”
Many Arabs residing in Ukraine have complained of ill treatment by Polish authorities on the border with Ukraine, with some left stranded in the region for days.
Russia’s invasion of its neighbour in February has disrupted already fragile global supply chains, driving up energy and food prices. Combined, the effects of the war have fuelled inflation across the globe, including in many Arab countries, where it has also disrupted the delicate and politically-sensitive food balance.
Other mediation attempts by countries such as France, Israel and Turkey have so far failed to make any progress.
But the Arab League's record in mediating an end to conflicts in its region does not compare well, in part due to the intractable nature of many regional conflicts which have run across political, tribal, ethnic and religious lines.
However, the Arab League’s mediation offer carries some weight because its members have extensive and complex economic and political ties with the two nations and its readiness to search for a diplomatic solution to the conflict reflects a genuinely serious concern in the region over the effects of a prolonged war.
The Arab League also wants to see the conflict end because, analysts say, it has shifted international attention away from pressing regional issues like Iran’s menacing role in the area, the turmoil in Libya, Lebanon’s worsening economy and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Of the 22 member states of the Arab League, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Libya and Tunisia are the biggest wheat importers and the hardest hit by the spike in its price since the war broke out.
Egypt is perhaps the most potent example of an Arab country hit hard by the war.
As the world’s largest wheat importer, bringing in around 13 million tonnes last year — Egypt normally secures 80 per cent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine.
To weather the fallout from the war, Egypt has banned the export of wheat for three months, devalued its currency by 14 per cent, raised key interest rates and started talks with the IMF on securing a possible aid package to help it get through the crisis.
Western sanctions slapped on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine also leave Egypt’s years-long procurement of weapons from Moscow in limbo and throw into doubt Cairo’s plans for Russia to build its first nuclear power station.
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French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
HOW TO WATCH
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Results
5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Reem Baynounah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Afham, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle
7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Haqeeqy, Dane O’Neill, John Hyde.
Results
5pm: Al Falah – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Bshara, Richard Mullen (jockey), Salem Al Ketbi (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: AF Musannef, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Al Dhafra – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Mualami, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
6.30pm: Al Khaleej Al Arabi – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Hawafez, Adrie de Vries, Abubakar Daud
7pm: Al Mafraq – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Royston Ffrench, Irfan Ellahi
7.30pm: Al Samha – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Celestial Spheres, Patrick Cosgrave, Ismail Mohammed
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
