GITEX & GULFCOMMS 2006, the largest Middle East IT technology exhibition, was held in Dubai
From November 18 to 22, the largest and most popular exhibition of the latest achievements in the field of IT-technologies, computers and office equipment GITEX & GULFCOMMS 2006 was held at the Dubai International Trade Center from November 18 to 22, in which 1347 exhibitors from 76 countries took part.
The exhibition was inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president, prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai. This year's exposition, organized by ICT, grew by 33% and in total occupied 62 thousand square meters of exhibition space in 13 halls of DCMT. The largest manufacturers of computers and software, telecommunications corporations, satellite and mobile operators have presented the latest developments in the field of high technology to the judgment of industry experts. At the same time, GITEX SHOPPER 2006, an exhibition and sale of computers and electronics, was open to the public at Expo Airport, and was attended by over 120 thousand people.
Sheikh Dubai's new war: state against unscrupulous employers
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, who recently staged a serious shake up for the Dubai Department of Roads and Transport, took over the Ministry of Labor and Employment.
At the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed handed over clear directives on improving the situation of foreign labor in the country to the Minister of Labor and Employment of the UAE, Dr. Ali bin Abdullah Al-Qaabi. Sheikh Mohammed made the main emphasis on monitoring the implementation of labor legislation by employers, for which he recommended additionally hiring up to 2,000 labor protection inspectors and expanding the advisory apparatus in the Labor Departments, where any foreigner can complain to his employer.
Sheikh Mohammed emphasized that he would no longer tolerate the arbitrariness of the power prevailing in the country: he insisted on the adoption of a number of new provisions to the law on labor, which would give workers confidence in protecting their rights. In light of the current situation in the country, Sheikh Mohammed demanded the introduction of new rules that would facilitate the transition of qualified foreign workers from one employer to another. A separate clause of the proposals concerns the verification of the availability of compulsory medical insurance cards introduced by the Ministry of Labor in 2006 for all foreign workers.
Summing up the proposals, Sheikh Mohammed indicated that the Ministry of Labor should work closely with the Department of Naturalization and Migration, as well as with the police and the Criminal Investigation Department, in order to monitor the behavior of each and every employer.
It was proposed to establish special supervision over companies importing foreign labor to the UAE: inspectors of the Ministry of Labor are going to assign to each of them.
The proposals of Sheikh Mohammed are in the nature of a directive and are due to be implemented in the very near future.
Moscow closer to Abu Dhabi
Russia is building up cooperation with the UAE in the military-technical sphere. An agreement on further cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense was signed in the emirate capital.
The document lays the legal basis for expanding and deepening ties between the defense departments of the two countries. It provides for the establishment of an Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation.
The commission's task is to consider cooperation projects in the field of improving the emirate’s air defense system, space exploration, deliveries of Russian weapons and equipment to the UAE.
Mikhail Dmitriev, director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation with Foreign States, who signed the agreement on behalf of the Russian Federation, said in an interview with ITAR-TASS that the bilateral agreements reached open a “qualitatively new stage” in Russian-Emirate military cooperation and should give new momentum to bilateral connections. “We are optimistic about the development of bilateral relations. We have new opportunities to consider projects of interest to both countries,” he said.
In light of the emerging new prospects, the Russian Federation and the UAE plan to sign agreements on the protection of classified information and intellectual property.
Russia was visited this fall by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.
At a meeting with Sheikh Abdullah, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed satisfaction with cooperation with the UAE in the foreign policy sphere, confirmed that he would use the invitation to visit the Emirates, and estimated the future volume of bilateral trade at one billion dollars.
Additions to Dubai Property Law
Representatives of the Dubai Land Management Department announced their intention to adopt in the first quarter of 2007 three amendments to the existing Dubai Real Estate Law.
According to the Gulf News newspaper, the Land Use Department is currently considering a draft law on condominiums establishing rules for the use and maintenance of common areas, as well as amendments to escrow accounts and the rules for creating and operating real estate associations.
Since the adoption of the Dubai Real Estate Law in March this year, which postulated the right of foreigners to buy real estate on the basis of freeholds, experts have not ceased to point out its obvious shortcomings. According to them, clarifying the description of the rights and obligations of foreign investors will help significantly increase the competitiveness of Dubai.
"The adoption of amendments to the law will not affect the dynamics of price growth, but significantly increase the level of customer confidence," said the director general of the department in an interview with the Sultan Butti bin Mizhrin.
Burj Dubai Tower Rises Above Many US and European Skyscrapers
Burj Dubai ("Dubai Tower") will ascend this month to a 300-meter height. Before her, two dozen meters. Every three days, the future world high-altitude record holder rises into the sky three floors. 80 of them have already been completed.
The construction in the UAE of a unique skyscraper designed by the American company Scidmore, Owings and Merill (SOM), and worth about a billion dollars, is on schedule. The construction of the tower, which is being built by an international consortium led by South Korean company Samsung, will be completed in 2008.
Thousands of workers are employed at the pretentious construction site near the Dubai World Trade Center. More than 200 thousand cubic meters of highly stressed concrete and almost 40 thousand metric tons of steel reinforcement have already been laid in the body of the future main Dubai attraction.
The exact height of Burj Dubai, in which there will be 30 thousand residential apartments, is not yet known. The foundation of the tower, lowered to a depth of 50 meters, allows builders to raise its spire to the sky to a kilometer mark.
The Dubai architectural and construction marvel in the form of a desert flower along with a record high-altitude will have not only the highest spire, but also the world's largest external surface and the largest area of premises used.
Dubai Holds Guide to Freehold Legal Issues
The Dubai Land Management Department has published a freehold legal guide to give everyone a clear idea of buying and registering property in special areas of the emirate.
The adoption of the new Freehold Law introduced a long-awaited clarity on many aspects. However, there is an urgent problem with the technical names of the development areas, which often raises questions for buyers regarding whether their land is included in a particular building. For example, in the areas of Greens and Springs.
In order to dispel all doubts, the guide’s 168 page contains a complete list of freehold zones, seasoned with a detailed map. As befits any guidebook, the book contains detailed information on all aspects of the acquisition of real estate in the UAE by foreigners. In addition, it contains step-by-step instructions, sheets for checking the readiness of documents, expert advice and other useful additions.
A guide worth 25 dirhams (8 USD), created jointly with Sterling Publications, will be available on November 21. It will be available in two languages - English and Arabic.
Aeroflot's new General Representative in the UAE appointed
In early October 2006, Sergey Salov was appointed the new general representative of Aeroflot - Russian Airlines in the UAE.
Sergey Salov was born in 1966. He graduated from school in 1984, served in the army, graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute in 1992. He worked at the Ministry of Civil Aviation, from 1997 to 2002 he was a representative of Aeroflot in Turkey. Since February 2004 - Aeroflot representative in Abu Dhabi; since November 2004, has been working at the Aeroflot representative office in Dubai. Married, has two children: daughter 19 years old and son 3 years old.
The introduction of VAT in the United Arab Emirates is a "settled matter"
The inevitability of the introduction of value added tax in the UAE and other Arabian Gulf countries was confirmed by the Director General of Dubai Customs Ahmed Butti Ahmed.
“The introduction of the tax is a settled matter,” the chief Dubai customs official told media representatives. He said that a special local commission, together with consulting firms, is now studying this issue from the point of view of the political, economic and other consequences that the innovation will lead to.
Ahmed Butti recalled that value added tax is levied in 150 countries and belongs to the category of “fair, indirect”. He noted that the commission’s work was commissioned by the General Secretariat of the Arabian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which along with the UAE includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Sultanate of Oman.
In fact, VAT is a variant of customs duty, but differs from it in that it is levied upon the sale of goods to the consumer, and not upon importation into the country.
The chief Dubai customs official assured that the commission studying this issue is called upon to solve the problem in such a way as to prevent price increases in the regional markets. He did not name the estimated size of the tax, nor the timing of its introduction.
Pocket TV will appear in the Emirates
The management of the free economic zone of Dubai Media City, the region’s largest media center, has announced plans to introduce a DVB-H-based mobile television system.
Assistance in transferring the television picture to the mobile displays of the UAE residents by Dubai Media City will be provided by partners, including the new telecommunications operator du and the largest television corporations of the Emirates Dubai Media Incorporated and Emirates Media Incorporated.
The innovation could be seen and touched at the du stand at the GITEX & GULFCOMMS 2006 exhibition. Commercial testing of the technology is scheduled for early next year.
The DVB-H standard (Digital Video Broadcast Handheld, DVB "handheld, portable"), which is a symbiosis of digital television and mobile communications, was recognized in 2004 as the main standard for mobile TV services in Europe. Its relevance and vitality was confirmed by the past World Cup.
The first in the history of the UAE local buses are off the assembly line
In November 2006, the first locally produced buses in the history of the country left the assembly line of an automobile plant in Abu Dhabi, which became a symbol of a new round in the country's industrial development.
The first ten newborn buses, fully adapted to the realities of the climate of the Gulf region, went straight to Oman. The second batch of 20 cars is eagerly awaiting in Qatar by the end of the month.
The UAE, which has a stable reputation in the world as a major center of trade, do not forget about the industrial sector. The factory, where vehicles are being sculpted at an enviable speed, is the property of the joint Emirate-British company Trans Continental Industries LLC, based in the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi.
Dubai work permits will be issued over the Internet
The UAE Ministry of Labor and Employment, with the assistance of the Department of Naturalization and Migration, has begun issuing work permits in Dubai via the Internet, as part of a program to develop a network of electronic services provided by the state. “We are working to create an effective electronic network connecting government institutions, which will allow us to provide high-quality services in a short time. Issuing work permits, which always took a lot of time and effort, will now be as simple as possible,” commented Ali. bin Abdullah Al-Qa'abi, UAE Minister of Labor and Employment.
The innovation so far applies only to companies registered in the emirate of Dubai. As follows from the circular of the ministry, communication with companies regarding petitions will occur via the Internet, and not traditional mail, as it was before. In the case of a positive resolution of the issue within the walls of the Ministry of Labor, the applicant company will be notified by email.
Further, without any involvement from the applicant, the relevant information in electronic form is sent directly to the Department of Naturalization and Migration. When the work visa is ready, the applicant will be notified by SMS, which will contain the identification number for the visa. In case of refusal at any stage, companies will be notified via traditional mail.
According to the Ministry of Labor, since the beginning of the year, more than 300 thousand work permits have been issued in the UAE.
Dubai has a virtual free economic zone
The Jafza Free Economic Zone, together with Tejari, the largest virtual trading platform in the Middle East, created a virtual platform for the development of electronic commerce within Jafza.
Thanks to the successfully completed project to create Jafza Link, from yesterday 5500 companies registered in Jafza will be able to make e-commerce an integral part of routine business processes.
Jafza Link enables enterprises to gain instant access to new markets without major upfront investments. On its basis, they can create interactive databases, open virtual trading floors and make a number of important transactions. Used technologies from Oracle can optimize supply and reduce costs. At the moment, the service is available only for companies registered in Jafza.
UAE passed law on international cooperation in criminal matters
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan adopted the Federal Law No. 39 of 2006, which regulates international legal cooperation between the UAE and foreign states in the field of criminal proceedings.
Eighty articles of the new law, the first in the history of the country, establish norms for the extradition of citizens of foreign states and foreign property, describe the procedures necessary for execution in relation to them before transferring the case to the prosecutor's office and court. The law also covers aspects of resolving various legal issues of foreign citizens with the help of the authorities of the Emirates, guarantees the immunity of witnesses and experts.
In accordance with the Law, the judicial authorities of the Emirates can cooperate with their foreign colleagues in criminal matters on the basis of mutually beneficial cooperation. However, the Law does not establish the right of foreign states to demand from the Emirates participation in any criminal process.
Law No. 39 establishes a mechanism for transferring convicts and persons under investigation to foreign states, providing them with the right to interrogate, partial legal proceedings and serve their prison sentences. Law No. 39 will come into force from the moment it is published in the official press of the UAE, where its full text will be available.
UAE will be among the largest economies in the world
The United Arab Emirates have a real opportunity to get on the 36th line of the rating of the largest economies in the world already according to the results of 2006, said UAE Minister of Economy Sheikh Lubna Al Qasimi.
At a press conference in the framework of the Japan-Emirate seminar on economic cooperation, Sheikh Lubna said that the expected export growth for 2006 will be at least 21%, reaching 514 billion dirhams ($ 140 billion). The volume of imports for the specified period increased by 3%, which is equivalent to 306 billion dirhams ($ 83 billion).
“Oil and oil products account for up to 40% of exports, but we are working tirelessly to rid the UAE economy of oil dependence,” sheikh Lyubna said, “the contribution of this sector to the Emirates’s GDP will decrease as investments in other sectors of the economy increase from every year. "
Sheikh Lubna also predicts that the Emirates' GDP for 2006 will increase by 23%, amounting to 597 billion dirhams ($ 162.6 billion). According to the IMF, GDP growth will be at least 36%, which will put the UAE in 36th place among the largest economies in the world.
Dubai will charge for roads
The Dubai Committee for Roads and Transport has announced plans to introduce fees for using the city’s two busiest highways — Sheikh Zayed Highway and Garhud Street, including the bridge of the same name. The project aims to reduce the flux density of machines. The planned fee for the use of highways will be 4 dirhams at a time. A maximum of 24 dirhams will be removed from a single car per day. According to journalists, the total amount of payment per year can reach 8,500 dirhams (USD 2,300), which is expensive even by the standards of Great Britain and Europe. The details of the introduction of road tolls and the mechanism for collecting money are still unknown. But the date is known - July 2007.
Draconian traffic rules introduced in Dubai
Dubai has adopted new traffic regulations. An updated register of violations has been introduced for all persons with a Dubai driver’s license. Toughened penalties for violators. The new rules come into force on January 1, 2007.
According to the Al-Ittihad newspaper in Abu Dhabi, 87 violations are listed in the registry. Among them are 6 main ones: dangerous driving or racing on the road, using a car without license plates, driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other means, causing death on the road, exceeding the maximum speed by 60 km / h and trying to hide from the police.
These violations will be punished with 24 “black marks”, a fine, seizure of rights or suspension of their actions for six months and the arrest of the car. The remaining 81 violations will be punished with fines of between 100 and 500 dirhams and 12 black marks, with the exception of cases that fall under the jurisdiction of the court.
Driving at the red traffic light will be punished by detaining the car for a week for the first violation, for a month for the second, transferring the case to court for the third. Detained vehicles may be released from arrest upon payment of a fine of 100 dirhams for each day of the detention awarded.
Withdrawn driver’s licenses can only be restored one year after the violation was made if the second exam was successfully completed. Cars registered in other UAE emirates may be subjected to a 3-month arrest for violations committed by their drivers. Cars with glass tinted in violation of established standards may be arrested for a period of one month.
Double DTF - Double Celebration
The dual version of the 11th and 12th traditional annual Dubai Trade Festival, which will be held from December 20, 2006 to February 2, 2007, promises to bring the best entertainment, the best shopping and the best prize draws that will exceed all expectations.
According to the promises of the organizers, the festival will be extraordinary. He will be bigger and better! As many as 45 days of a shopping holiday under the unchanging motto "One world. One family. One festival" will attract visitors from all over the world to Dubai. This year, two giant shopping centers are included in the festival events - Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Battuta Mall, and it is safe to say that the festive extravaganza will cover the whole city, including the New Dubai districts. In total, more than 30 shopping centers and 2,000 retail stores will be included in the festival race.
The organizing committee of the festival includes the main state departments of Dubai, the sponsors and patrons are the 25 largest private and joint-stock companies. The festival will host many entertainment events, including the Dubai Fashion Week, which will bring together leading designers of the region and the world, colorful street carnival processions, sports and water shows, cultural and historical educational programs, conferences and exhibitions, concerts, theater performances and much more. much more.
As always during the DTF, a huge number of various prizes will be raffled - from gold bullions and large sums of money to luxury cars. Throughout the festival, world-famous Carpet Oasis and the Global Village will work. It is expected that guests from more than 200 countries will come to DTF-2006-2007.
