ABU DHABI // The Emirates has long expended significant diplomatic and humanitarian efforts in Sudan, cementing deep relations between the two countries.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, mediated between Sudan and Chad during a border dispute in 2009.
Between 2004 and 2008, trade between the UAE and Sudan increased by 153 per cent. Emirati investment in the country rose from $1.3bn at the end of 2007 to $2bn at the end of 2009. The majority of the UAE's investments are in services, industry and agriculture.
In 1981, the UAE signed an agreement with Sudan allowing Sudanese workers in the UAE.
In 2003, an agreement was signed between the two countries establishing a free-trade zone. Non-oil exports in 2009 to Sudan reached over $173m, while imports were worth $635m. Both imports and exports rose significantly between 2008 and 2009.
The majority of the UAE's non-oil imports from Sudan in 2009 included pearls, precious stones and metals.
In a report in March, the Ministry of Foreign Trade urged investors to contribute to Sudan's agricultural sector. Investment there is important for the UAE, which is trying to enhance its food security by buying and investing in agricultural land in Africa.
Sudan has vast tracts of fertile land, estimated at about 84 million hectares.
The UAE was one of the first countries to support the Arab Organisation for Agricultural Production, a consortium set up in Khartoum to encourage investment in the agricultural sector, which makes up 40 per cent of Sudan's GDP.
Growing agricultural investment in Sudan could help shore up the UAE's food security. In addition, Etisalat owns 82 per cent of Sudan's Canar Telecom.
Apart from the Merowe Dam, the UAE is financing other projects including a 250-megawatt dam and generating system, to be built in the north.
Abu Dhabi acquired 30,000 hectares of land last June through the ADFD to grow alfalfa, a crop used to feed cattle.
Aid to Sudan has also been significant. Between 1998 and early 2009, humanitarian aid by the Red Crescent to Sudan totalled Dh51.3 million.
The Red Crescent Authority (RCA) has dispatched plane loads of foodstuff and medicines to refugee camps in southern Sudan, setting up an "air bridge" for relief materials.
The UAE commissioned a mobile hospital that treated 6,500 patients in southern Sudan in 2009. Noor Dubai, a project to treat patients with visual disabilities, also opened a branch in Sudan.
The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) loaned Sudan US$367 million (Dh1.34 billion) to help build the Merowe Dam, which supplies power and helps with agricultural irrigation. The project was inaugurated by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, in 2009.
In 2008, the fund also loaned the Sudanese government $100m to help Sudan balance its budget, and in the same year it dispatched relief aid to Sudanese flood victims.
The RCA launched several development projects in Juba and Darfur to help displaced refugees.
kshaheen@thenational.ae
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
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
