Last week I visited Rome and Milan on a working visit.
This visit sits within a broader mandate I carry as a Special Envoy for Business and Philanthropy: to open practical avenues of business-to-business co-operation across a wide set of strategic partners in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Italy was one of these stops, selected for its complementary strengths and the momentum created earlier this year, with President Sheikh Mohamed’s state visit to Italy underscored an intent to translate goodwill into delivery, including a $40 billion investment commitment across key sectors.
Over several days we held a few dozen focused engagements across advanced industry, finance, digital infrastructure and AI, technical training initiatives, and health and life sciences.
We also convened a roundtable of leading Italian foundations and corporate philanthropies to shape a pilot initiative around youth and skills development.
In parallel, cultural and educational links were on the agenda, from joint exhibitions and residencies to university exchanges that build bridges between our creative and academic communities.
The outcomes of such international engagements must translate into opportunities created for our entrepreneurs and SMEs, our students and researchers, our cultural institutions and philanthropies and the communities they serve. They also directly support the UAE’s national agenda of economic diversification, innovation and global partnership.
The UAE economy has diversified decisively: non-oil sectors now account for three-quarters of national output, driven by logistics, finance, technology, tourism, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and the creative industries.
The country has invested at scale in artificial intelligence and advanced digital infrastructure – from research institutions and talent pipelines to the computing capacity that modern enterprise requires.
Italian industrial depth and engineering excellence pair naturally with the UAE’s platforms for rapid adoption and regional scale. When those strengths are combined well, promising ideas move faster from pilot to platform, and value flows in both directions.
Italian industrial depth and engineering excellence pair naturally with the UAE’s platforms for rapid adoption and regional scale
Equally important is the how. We approached the week with a clear standard: useful conversations that lead to appointed focal points, simple workplans, and near-term milestones. Some engagements set the stage for new co-operation; others progressed existing tracks.
In philanthropy, for example, partners agreed to scope measurable programmes that can be designed in 90 days and executed with transparent governance.
In technology and energy, corporates compared roadmaps and identified specific areas where the UAE’s scale and Italy’s capabilities meet – whether that is grid modernisation and storage, clean power integration, AI enabled industry or health innovation.
These outcomes now extend to the UAE’s private sector, civil society and knowledge institutions, inviting local participation in what we co-create abroad.
The UAE’s small and medium enterprises and middle-capital companies can plug into new supply chains and co-innovation opportunities. Universities and research centres in the Emirates can partner on translational projects.
The arts and cultural platforms can deepen people-to-people ties that make commercial partnerships more resilient. And the philanthropic community, with its strong record in humanitarian action and development, can partner in outcomes that uplift the most vulnerable.
With all international partners we engage, the UAE’s role is to be a reliable, constructive counterpart: moving quickly, communicating clearly and staying the course. As an Arab proverb reminds us, “Trust in God, but tie your camel.” Ambition matters; so do discipline and follow through.
Our country’s economic story has been one of diversification, openness and partnership. As we continue to match the UAE’s dynamism and platforms with complementary strengths abroad, we will create new opportunities for our people and deliver broader social value.
That is why countries such as Italy matter to readers at home in the UAE, and why you will see this work continue across a broad slate of partner countries in the months ahead.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Match info
Deccan Gladiators 87-8
Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16
Maratha Arabians 89-2
Chadwick Walton 51 not out
Arabians won the final by eight wickets
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
