Since establishing official ties in 1976, the UAE has become much more than a friend to Indonesia.
The UAE is the leading Gulf investor in South-East Asia, accounting for 74 per cent of Gulf states’ investments in the Association of South-East Asian Nations bloc between 2016 and 2021. Between January and July this year alone, total trade between our two countries reached $2.8 billion, an increase of almost 30 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2021. To add to the optimism, the newly signed Indonesia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is set to eliminate about 94 per cent of existing tariffs. These facts and figures signal the rapidly growing business ties between the two countries.
However, our relationship is also one of respect and brotherhood, reflected in the naming of Indonesia’s longest elevated toll road after President Sheikh Mohamed, as well as the existence of a President Joko Widodo Street in Abu Dhabi’s diplomatic enclave. A similar exchange could be observed in plans to build mosques in the name of Mr Widodo in Abu Dhabi and Sheikh Mohamed in the Indonesian president’s hometown of Surakarta.
While some might view these symbolic acts as mere gestures, I am convinced that in the UAE, we have a friend who cares. Proudly, I can say that we reciprocate this feeling with utmost respect. When Sheikh Khalifa passed away, Mr Widodo had just returned from a visit to the UAE. This did not deter him from making a trip back to pay his respects. Such is the nature of our relationship.
This is why I want to share with Emiratis and Arabs the opportunities emerging in Indonesia as the country embraces great changes. Internationally we are gaining prominence as chair of the G20 Summit this year and the Asean Summit in 2023. Domestically we will start making Indonesia Vision 2045 a reality. By our 100th year of independence, we want to be one of the world’s five largest economies. I have faith we will get there – but we will need foreign investment to overcome three key challenges.
The first challenge is infrastructure. We are a country of more than 270 million people, the fourth largest in the world by population, across 17,508 islands. Our geography means logistics costs make up almost a quarter of our gross domestic product. To overcome this challenge and accelerate our journey towards economic prosperity, we must undertake significant infrastructure improvements in collaboration with foreign partners.
Many of us have experienced and overcome hardship. We have faced crises, but we have never been defeated
As chairman of Indonesia’s National Capital City Project Steering Committee and a key backer of the Indonesian Investment Authority, Sheikh Mohamed and the UAE are no strangers to the commercial viability of infrastructure projects in Indonesia. Since 2014, I am proud to state that at least 6,140 kilometres of roads, 15 airports, 124 ports and 65 dams have been built. Yet, Indonesia needs more, and companies such as DP World, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala Investment Company will play a key role in making things happen.
Second, we need to play a larger role in the global supply chain. In 2021, Indonesia's trade-to-GDP ratio stood at 40.2 per cent. Developed economies typically having a trade-to-GDP ratio of 50 to 55 per cent. Indonesia must reach similar levels by offering products that are critical for the global supply chain.
Our final economic challenge is that the manufacturing industry contributes a mere 17.5 per cent to the national GDP. Without high-value manufacturing, Indonesia risks falling into the middle-income trap and becoming isolated from the global supply chain. Attracting high-value manufacturing from developed economies is a necessity to unleash Indonesia’s true economic potential.
Despite these challenges there are three reasons that I believe Indonesia will thrive.
First, Indonesian companies and the public are rushing to involve themselves in the industries of the future. Currently about a quarter of our population are Gen Z and a quarter are millennials, and this youthful energy can be felt everywhere.
In the digital sphere, Indonesia is a leading force in Asean. Only Singapore has more unicorns. The beneficiaries are not just a few big companies. Many of our MSMEs, which make up 61 per cent of our GDP, are online selling goods across the country or abroad at the click of a button. As chairman of Kadin, the only national business organisation mandated by the constitution, I will be speaking on their behalf and working to support them with advice and technical support.
In green energy as well, Indonesians are seizing the day. While the government has committed that Indonesia will have net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, many businesses have earlier deadlines. For example, Indika Energy has committed itself to a 2050 deadline. We started as a coal company. Now we are budgeting more than $500 million over five years, beginning 2021, to transition into climate-friendly business sectors including renewable energy, sustainable forestry and electric vehicles. A quick Google search will tell you that several other Indonesian conglomerates are doing the same.
More on Indonesia-UAE ties
The only limit is funding. I once told a high-level US official considering investing in Indonesia's transition: “Invest in us and I will personally round up every coal miner and put them to work installing solar panels.”
I know this funding will come, and this is my second reason for confidence – the world is waking up to Indonesia’s potential. In the past, trying to sell Indonesia was sometimes frustrating. People often knew only of Bali and were barely aware of the rest of the country. Sometimes we Indonesians were also too modest for our own good. At trade fairs, for instance, one could find Indians and Chinese at the front, with Indonesians sitting humbly in a corner. Now, this is changing.
As chairman of the advisory board at B20, the official G20 dialogue with the global business community, I have travelled the world telling the story of Indonesia Incorporated. From Japan and South Korea to the US and Australia, the people I spoke to quickly grew interested. Whatever people wanted – commodities, green energy, digital markets, supply chain diversification – Indonesia could offer it to them. In the second financial quarter of 2022, our FDI jumped 40 per cent year on year. Top global companies such as Hyundai, LG, Foxconn, Tesla and Volkswagen are all knocking on our door.
At Kadin, we stand ready to assist all businesses, whether foreign or national. All we ask is that they register in Indonesia, pay their taxes, and have a positive community impact via initiatives involving local talent.
The final reason is simply my faith in ordinary Indonesians’ spirit. Many of us have experienced and overcome hardship. We have faced crises, but we have never been defeated. It is always those who have faced difficulties but who can see success on the horizon who are most hardworking, most determined, and most enterprising. Indonesians are all those things. That is why I am determined to make the world take notice of our country and the rapid change that is looming with Indonesia Inc.
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
Uefa Nations League: How it Works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
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What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
Race card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) US$100,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m
9.25pm: Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
10.35pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm: Shahm, 7.05pm: Well Of Wisdom, 7.40pm: Lucius Tiberius, 8.15pm: Captain Von Trapp, 8.50pm: Secret Advisor, 9.25pm: George Villiers, 10pm: American Graffiti, 10.35pm: On The Warpath
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
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Total eligible population
About 57.5 million people
51.1 million received a jab
6.4 million have not
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11%
Scotland 9%
Wales 10%
Northern Ireland 14%
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
