The British government's ambition to expand its post-Brexit free trade portfolio is now crystal clear. The UK would, Queen Elizabeth's speech on Tuesday made clear, rapidly "deepen trade ties" with the Gulf and much of the globe.
The explicit mention of the Middle East and other regions plays into the government plans to make Britain a free-trading power ready to strike deals across the globe.
This is not driven only by aspirations of Global Britain but by the necessity to find markets for goods to replace the EU as the major trading partner that accounted for 43 per cent of UK exports.
Under Britain’s burgeoning mercantile approach, it has already signed 67 trade deals and launched negotiations for many others, including in the Gulf.
The prospects of a deal are high, with Downing Street briefing journalists that it would “foster thriving relationships in the Middle East” based on trade, green innovation, science and trade.
The government said “Global Britain is a fierce champion of free and fair trade” that would “forge closer links with fast-growing and like-minded nations”.
Global trade is another necessity – Britain needs the money. The government's major departure from traditional Conservative orthodoxy is underlined by its borrowing and spending on a scale not seen since the Second World War. This was driven by the pandemic but at some point Britain will need to recoup the £300 billion ($424.74bn) it borrowed to get through the past year.
Now freed from EU regulations and imbued with growing confidence, Prime Minister Boris Johnson aims to move fast in striking agreements that are mutually beneficial for Britain and its new trading partners.
Free trade agreements, it is hoped, will account for 80 per cent of total UK commerce within three years.
Much of that commercial drive will come through the eight new freeports announced by the queen, designed to drive exports and create jobs. Goods arriving at the freeports, strategically placed around the country – and including an airport in the East Midlands – are not subject to tariffs. This works well for exports as taxes are only paid if the goods are moved within the UK, otherwise they are sent overseas untaxed.
This new-found nimbleness has been helped along by the successful vaccination programme, that not only instilled Britain with belief but perhaps demonstrated that the EU’s approach was too lumbering for the island nation.
The prospect of a trade deal with the UAE was looked on favourably by the Emirates' ambassador in London.
"Following the queen's speech, the UAE welcomes the UK's commitment to deepen trade ties with the Gulf region," His Excellency Mansoor Abulhoul said. "Our countries already have strong business connections, with the UAE continuing to be the UK's top Arab trading partner and more than 5,000 British businesses operating in the Emirates. We are proud that so many Britons already choose to export to the UAE and have a presence in the Emirates as a gateway to the wider Gulf region."
He said the countries already collaborated across several sectors from energy to financial services, highlighted by an £800 million investment from the UAE into UK life sciences. "We hope to build on this foundation to the benefit of both countries as we all look to deliver economic prosperity in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic," the ambassador said.
Tuesday also proved that for the first time in 40 years the British Parliament could make legislation without looking over its shoulder at EU regulations. It is unclear whether this proves positive or negative, but the government is proposing a long list of legislation.
For the last decade, the Conservative-led government has pushed the green agenda with ambitious but achievable targets of reducing carbon emissions. With the arguments that this would be detrimental to growth proven wrong, Mr Johnson hopes to generate 250,000 jobs with his Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution.
Prioritising climate change is not only necessary, but also brings political benefits. Mr Johnson’s previously tepid relationship with US President Joe Biden is warming over climate change, with the American leader a major environmental enthusiast. The relationship will likely be further enhanced when Britain hosts the Cop26 climate summit in November.
As someone who came close to death during the pandemic, Mr Johnson knows better than most the importance of the National Health Service. He understands, too, that the NHS and its workforce are held dear by the British public. But the system is in need of reform and is inferior to major European nations in terms of capability and capacity.
In the immediate term, the government needs to address the significant backlog of cancer patients, perhaps as many as one million as reported by The National on Monday, that have built up during the Covid crisis.
“We must also account for the returning demand of those people who have not come forward for care during the pandemic,” Downing Street said as part of its NHS Catch-up and Recovery Plan.
Alongside trade, environment and health bills, the queen announced a raft of legislation from policing to immigration and electoral reform. With an 80-plus majority of MPs, much of the government agenda will sail through Parliament.
Newly confident from deal-making and having stolen a march on the coronavirus, it appears the country is potentially emerging from a half-decade of torpor into the “sunlit uplands” that many had only thought of as one of Mr Johnson's elegiac ramblings.
Company%20profile
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
New Zealand squad
Tim Southee (capt), Trent Boult (games 4 and 5), Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (games 1-3), Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Scoreline:
Cardiff City 0
Liverpool 2
Wijnaldum 57', Milner 81' (pen)
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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.
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SPECS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Eriksen 80')
Inter Milan 0
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The%C2%A0specs%20
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
