NEW YORK // The UAE and other GCC countries have joined talks with the six nations attempting to settle mounting concerns over Iran's atomic programme.
GCC envoys, invited by the UK, met with the so-called P5-plus-one group, comprising the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain, plus Germany - for what Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, described as a "fruitful meeting".
"We discussed the importance of ending this question and the importance of [GCC members] having a role in consulting with these [P5-plus-one] countries on the Iranian question to end these differences," Sheikh Abdullah told reporters at UN headquarters on Saturday.
The meeting followed the disclosure over the weekend of a second Iranian underground nuclear plant under development near the city of Qom.
"The new facility is being looked at by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and it seems there will be positive co-operation with Iran for inspecting this site," Sheikh Abdullah said.
"It will be in the best interests of everybody that this situation stays under control."
Representatives of the P5-plus-one group are to meet in Geneva on Thursday, with US officials hopeful of having secured support from Russia and China for a new round of UN sanctions against Iran.
Jeffrey Feltman, the US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, told reporters on Saturday that GCC members "have requested that we have ongoing consultations with them about Iran".
Speaking before a meeting between GCC foreign ministers and the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, on Saturday, Mr Feltman described "ongoing consultation with our Gulf friends about what is our policy toward Iran and how are we going to address the October 1st dialogue with Iran".
"There's a profound concern on their part that we not do anything that would sort of trade their interests for our interests," Mr Feltman added.
A statement after a meeting of foreign ministers from the GCC, the United States, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq on Saturday expressed "hope that the planned meeting ... on October 1 will begin a process that resolves international concerns about Iran's nuclear activities".
Gulf countries should get involved in talks over Iran's nuclear programme, the Italian foreign minister, Franco Frattini, said on Thursday after a meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) nations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
"The states of the Gulf have a strong interest in being involved on Iranian nuclear issues," Mr Frattini told reporters, while suggesting that such Asian nations as India and South Korea could also play a role.
On Friday, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told a press conference in midtown Manhattan that he did not object to members of the six-nation GCC joining the P5-plus-one group for the talks in Switzerland.
"Principally, we are not opposed to anyone being present in the talks, but it needs some planning," Mr Ahmadinejad said. "In our talks, we are always searching for humane solutions in order to resolve world problems.
"We are trying to organise a collective gathering that can resolve world problems. Now the five-plus-one group and us can sit down, make some plans and then obviously everyone can be invited to join in and resolve global concerns."
The Iranian leader described good relations and substantial trade with the GCC, adding that other nations - understood to mean the US - should avoid military involvement in the region.
"Our interests, our security are all common to one another ... we think that the regional countries in the Persian Gulf know on their own how to establish security in the region, and it doesn't need anyone else's intervention."
Gulf leaders have repeatedly urged Iran to comply with the international community over its uranium enrichment programme, while analysts say they are increasingly fearful of a nuclear-armed Iran.
At the opening of Friday's G20 summit in Pittsburgh, the US president, Barack Obama, branded Iran's attempts to conceal its second nuclear plant as a "direct challenge" to global non-proliferation and a threat to peace in the region.
@Email:jreinl@thenational.ae
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The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
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Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
