Iran should enter talks or seek international arbitration to settle a dispute with the UAE over three small islands, the Gulf Co-operation Council's foreign ministers said yesterday.
In a communique issued during their two-day meeting in Jeddah, the ministers reiterated their support for the UAE's claim to Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa in the Gulf, and called for peaceful action to help the Emirates restore its sovereignty.
The ministers "urged Iran to positively respond to UAE's endeavours and peaceful initiatives to settle the issue of the islands through direct bilateral negotiations or by referring the case to the International Court of Justice", WAM, the state news agency, reported.
Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, represented the UAE at the meeting, which was due to end last night. Tensions between the UAE and Iran over the islands have heightened since the Iranians built two administrative offices on Abu Musa in August last year. Iran occupied the islands in 1971 and started to bolster its military presence there in the 1990s.
The UAE claims sovereignty on the grounds that the islands belonged to Ras al Khaimah and Sharjah. Tehran makes competing claims on historical grounds.
Dr Mahmoun Fandy, a Gulf security expert at the UK-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said: "This is the time if the UAE wants to get its islands story as an agenda item among policy makers worldwide - while there's tension between Iran and the West.
"But this is the same statement that's reissued at every meeting. It doesn't have any teeth. If the UAE wants a resolution, it's going to have to be more tough."
The ministers praised the actions of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait in thwarting planned attacks by militants.
Last month, Saudi Arabia said it had arrested 44 members of a cell with links to Kuwait. In May, Bahrain said it had apprehended a cell plotting attacks in other Gulf states.
The ministers said they were "satisfied" with action taken so far to prevent the spread of swine flu in the region.
GCC health ministries have banned "vulnerable groups", such as the elderly and children, from taking part in Haj and Umrah this year and most are running awareness campaigns on the disease.
The ministers reviewed steps by member states to follow the Supreme Council's guidelines on the development of nuclear power for peaceful purposes, and delegates called for the international community to face up to its responsibility to the Palestinian people, WAM said.
lmorris@thenational.ae
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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- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.