Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan attends an Arab League Council meeting at league headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, this month. EPA
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan attends an Arab League Council meeting at league headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, this month. EPA
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan attends an Arab League Council meeting at league headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, this month. EPA
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan attends an Arab League Council meeting at league headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, this month. EPA

Signs of Iran deal progress are 'not positive', Saudi foreign minister says


Joyce Karam
  • English
  • Arabic

Follow developments at the UN General Assembly as they happen.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Friday there is little optimism for the fate of nuclear negotiations with Iran.

“We are hopeful that there is still potential for progress of the negotiations. But unfortunately, the signs, as of now, are not positive,” Prince Faisal said.

The Saudi diplomat spoke to media following a meeting of the Gulf Co-operation Council plus Jordan, Iraq and Egypt (GCC+3) in New York on the sidelines of this year's UN General Assembly.

The meeting came after talks around forging a new nuclear deal with Iran have floundered. Former president Donald Trump abrogated the US side of the agreement in 2018 and any new agreement to slow Iran's development of a nuclear weapon seems far off.

The GCC+3 meeting, hosted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, was “very good” and followed up on President Joe Biden's visit to Jeddah in July, Prince Faisal said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior diplomat at the meeting said the main issues discussed were Ukraine, food security, Palestine, Iran and Syria. The diplomat reiterated the Saudi foreign minister’s view on the nuclear talks with Iran, calling them “frozen”.

Representatives and foreign ministers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen and Egypt attended the meeting, which went 15 minutes over its scheduled time.

“The issues of regional co-operation and regional security, enhancing the partnership between the countries of the region and the United States” were discussed, Prince Faisal said.

China did not come up in the meeting, he added.

He said Riyadh is encouraging all parties to be serious about the Iran talks and “to find a way to resolve the issues while ensuring that the minimum necessary safeguards of non-proliferation are in place”.

Asked by The National if he had held any meetings with Iranian officials while in New York, the Saudi foreign minister said no such meetings have taken place.

Mr Blinken said at the start of the GCC+3 meeting that the discussion was to focus on “shared regional and global challenges, to bring an enduring peace to Yemen, dealing with the challenges posed by Iran, grappling with food insecurity, among many other issues”.

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.

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  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

UAE squad

Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

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7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA); Dh70,000; 1,400m.
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While you're here
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BRAZIL SQUAD

Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Non-oil%20trade
%3Cp%3ENon-oil%20trade%20between%20the%20UAE%20and%20Japan%20grew%20by%2034%20per%20cent%20over%20the%20past%20two%20years%2C%20according%20to%20data%20from%20the%20Federal%20Competitiveness%20and%20Statistics%20Centre.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%2010%20years%2C%20it%20has%20reached%20a%20total%20of%20Dh524.4%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECars%20topped%20the%20list%20of%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20re-exported%20to%20Japan%20in%202022%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh1.3%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJewellery%20and%20ornaments%20amounted%20to%20Dh150%20million%20while%20precious%20metal%20scraps%20amounted%20to%20Dh105%20million.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERaw%20aluminium%20was%20ranked%20first%20among%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20exported%20to%20Japan.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETop%20of%20the%20list%20of%20commodities%20imported%20from%20Japan%20in%202022%20was%20cars%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh20.08%20billion.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

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Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs

Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6

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Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Kerb weight: 1580kg

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Updated: September 23, 2022, 5:34 PM`