ABU DHABI // Officials from around the world gathered on Sunday to find ways to fight the common threat of ISIL in the region.
Delegates from Nato, the European Union, the United States, China and Russia discussed the impact of international strategies and security visions in shaping a regional system in the Arabian Gulf.
Alexander Vershbow, deputy secretary general of Nato, said urgent military action to degrade and defeat ISIL was required.
“We need to stop the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria and disrupt financial support to ISIL,” he said. “We need sustained efforts across the region to demilitarise ISIL. The US has taken the initiative to rally an international coalition ... it is especially important that regional countries such as the UAE are part of that effort.
“It’s not about the West imposing its will on the Islamic world but a joint effort to meet a common threat.”
Dr Ibtisam Al Kitbi, a political science professor at UAE University, said the region was witnessing a long sectarian war that was not likely to end soon.
“Due to the lack of a regional order recognised by countries in the region, GCC states, including the UAE, have sought to establish an organisation for regional cooperation and security,” she said. “To succeed in our efforts to build [it], we must agree that the dangers of the status quo outweigh the benefits. New rules must be ... agreed upon by all to end clashes between the security visions of regional and international powers.”
Dr Vitaly Naumkin, director of the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow, said ISIL was not only defined by its barbaric acts by fanatics, but as a state-building project.
“I heard from my friends in the region that [Isis] leaders were dreaming about coming to the Gulf because they have illusions that they have some power base in the region,” he said. “To some extent, this [state-building] strategy is more or less working so to fight this, it’s not just airstrikes and military action.”
John O’Rourke, head of Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Iran at the EU External Action Service in Brussels, said military response was “absolutely needed” along with a blockade of financial aid to Isis, and western countries to address the problem of foreign fighters.
“European and other foreign fighters are committing acts of atrocity and genocide against the populations of Syria and Iraq and we need to accept the responsibility to fight against this phenomenon,” he said. “We also need diplomatic efforts to address drivers of this conflict, including huge sectarian tensions in the region.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
Election pledges on migration
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SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
MATCH INFO
England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')
Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013