ABU DHABI // Members of Nato's parliamentary assembly are meeting Middle Eastern and North African officials and academics today to discuss common challenges.
The two-day seminar in the capital will cover issues such as political reform, energy security and regional dynamics.
Dr Mohammed Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Federal National Council Affairs, said in a statement: "This strategic meeting contributes to creating a common understanding between Nato countries and the GCC region, and will address the global challenges faced by the Middle East.
"This event will serve as a crucial platform to exchange opinions and experiences and also highlight the political experience of the UAE and the efforts taken to enhance political practices."
Today's seminar will open with a presentation by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and José Lello, the president of the Nato parliamentary assembly.
Abdul Aziz al Ghurair, the speaker of the FNC, will speak on Middle Eastern political reform, while Dr Gargash will deliver the closing remarks.
Scott Ritter, the former chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq, and Alvaro de Soto, the former UN special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, will also attend.
The seminar is one of two annual events to further the 2004 Istanbul Co-operation Initiative, or ICI, which was intended to enhance security co-operation and capacity building between Nato and Gulf states.
Alongside this week's conference, officials from the Emirates are expected to meet their Nato counterparts and discuss future security co-operation.
The ICI also seeks to improve security co-operation to combat terrorism, prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and counter the flow of illegal arms, drugs and people.
The initiative is focused on GCC member states, four of which have signed the initiative, including the UAE.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was originally formed to collectively defend Europe and America from Soviet attack. It has, however, expanded in scope since the fall of the USSR, and leads the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
Analysts said the ICI was not an expansion of Nato's sphere of influence but was instead a precursor to extending Nato security co-operation.
The Istanbul initiative was launched two years after tensions first escalated over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programme, said Dr Mustafa Alani, senior adviser and security programme director at the Gulf Research Centre in Dubai.
"There is a strategic problem of self-defence capability," said Dr Alani. "When you have no ability to defend yourself... you need to import protection, you need to accept a partner."
However, he added that the ICI suffered from its broad scope and lack of diplomatic teeth.
Saudi Arabia and Oman have yet to join, he said, because the agreement did not contain the trappings of a genuine military alliance, such as the guarantees for collective defence that are incumbent upon Nato members.
"The Istanbul initiative is not fulfilling this sort of ambition," he said. "The Istanbul initiative is just general co-operation, there is no strategic commitment."
The Ministry of State for FNC Affairs will host the two-day seminar at the Emirates Palace hotel, reported WAM, the state news agency.
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Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
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
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
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 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
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Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
The specs
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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