Arab countries must begin the reconstruction of their societies and tap into the growing youth population if they are to overcome challenges facing the region and counter foreign interference in internal affairs, say former Arab ministers.
The speakers at the 5th annual Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate said the willingness of Arab leaders to look westward for solutions continued to contribute to widespread violence and the inability of their countries to address their domestic problems, let alone remedy regional instability.
“If we looked in all honesty, from the Arab perspective not the foreigners' perspective, the problems of Arab should be the Arabs’ responsibility,” said Nabil Fahmy, former Egyptian foreign minister.
Khaled Bahah, the former Yemeni prime minister, said a failure to address not only the problems within Middle Eastern countries but also among Arabs had allowed political and social cracks to develop, creating opportunities for non-Arab countries to interfere in the internal affairs of Arabs.
“Allowing Iran and others to influence us, is found in regional cracks. If we could cement these cracks then it would be impossible for outside forces to interfere," he said. "If we as Arabs could solve our problems we would provide foreign forces with no opportunity.”
Arab countries, despite needing to create the capacity to address their own issues, should continue to develop relationships with the West. Their downfall, said Mr Bahah, is when the gap widens between Arab countries' capacity to overcome their challenges and the ability of foreign actors to willingly provide stability in the face of change.
“As a result we find that there is a security vacuum in the Arab world, and the Turkish, Iranian and Israeli influence in our affairs and their interference in every single issue. It’s gotten to the point where they are the most important players in our own affairs,” said Mr Bahah.
The solution, according to former Libyan prime minister Mahmoud Jibril, is found in empowering Arabs and tapping into what has often been seen as a crippling demographic drawback in the region: the growing youth bulge.
The Arab uprisings in 2011 "was an alarm bell, because it led to more violence and we can’t have that, especially in the light of our knowing that we can do it [ensure stability], especially with the young people,” said Mr Jibril.
He said the youth, who have grown increasingly disenfranchised, need to be given an opportunity to buy in to their respective governments' plans for their future.
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Despite revolutions in the Middle East being an earnest representation of the disenfranchisement of many Arabs, as was the case in several countries in 2011, the fear lies in that doing so in the current unstable environment allows dissident political and religious groups to hijack those movements to pursue their ulterior motives, Mr Jibril said.
That responsibility of change cannot come without the education of the youth and requires the reconstruction of an “Arab intellectualism” matched with a deeper understanding of religion capable of allowing youth to reject extremist, and at times violent, interpretations of religion.
“Building a new Arab mind has become the responsibility of every Arab, not a secondary thought. It is the role of every measure of society to contribute to this development ... It’s about providing agency to Arabs in every segment of society,” he said.
On rebuilding nations that have been divided by civil war, such as Syria and Yemen, Mr Bahah decried the practice of unifying states as a solution to conflicts without regard to the underlying concerns.
Mr Bahah warned that doing so would be building a state on an uneasy base, which was likely to institutionalise the grievances from both sides without reconciliation.
“The big problem, in transition, is building a nation or sustaining peace to stop a problem, to stop a crisis. We seldom build a country to build a country, we build to stop wars or a crisis, and this applies to all the other countries in difficulty,” Mr Bahah said.
When decision-makers begin the process of nation-building or unification of countries in Middle East, he said, the founding principles of that nation should be geared to sustain long-term peace and not as a remedy to the current conflict.
Many Arab countries development track is no different than that of Singapore’s in the 1980s and that lessons learnt from their development model should be implemented accordingly.
“Today in the region we are in the same situation, but we have a lack of political understanding of this environment, the lack of ability to change is leading to violence, the resistance to change is making us fail to understand these developments and that leads to more violence,” Mr Bahah said.
He said Singapore had implemented a willingness to change and act accordingly to utilise its resources. In recognising their issues and making use of their limited resources, they were able to create a country and build from the ground up a formidable and stable economic force bringing prosperity to its people.
The model has often been used by developing countries and is one that he said could be reinterpreted to help pull several Arab countries out of violence and into normality.
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number
- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
- Always create a different guest network for visitors
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
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'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
How to vote in the UAE
1) Download your ballot https://www.fvap.gov/
2) Take it to the US Embassy
3) Deadline is October 15
4) The embassy will ensure all ballots reach the US in time for the November 3 poll
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
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