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: Bosnian leaders have called for closer links with the UAE. President Alija Izetbegovic, Chairman of the Bosnian Federation, and Prime Minister Haris Silajdic proposed a partnership between the two countries. They also expressed the need for joint ventures and sought UAE investment in small industries and agriculture. During a meeting with UAE Red Crescent Society officials, the leaders thanked President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan for his support during and after the war with the Serbs. Izetbegovic said Sheikh Zayed's humanitarian support had played an important role in enabling Bosnians to overcome the throes of war. "Our country is now concerned with improving living conditions of the people by arming them with science and technology to enable them to undertake future development tasks. Praise goes to the UAE leadership and the people for helping us achieve these goals," Izetbegovic told RCS Chairman Khalifa Nassir Al Suweidi and General Manager Tariq Ghalib during a meeting in Sarajevo. The Red Crescent officials were also in Albania to inspect work at the society's refugee camps before heading for Bosnia. In Bosnia they visited refugee camps, rehabilitation and educational institutes and orphanages. The society sponsors about 2,250 orphans and 1,500 Kosovar refugees in Bosnia. The UAE team attended a graduation ceremony at a school which the society helped build. The RCS also financed a computer laboratory and built a mosque for the students. Ghalib said the society would continue to support Kosovar and Bosnian orphans. He said the society preferred to financially support the orphans in their own countries rather than bring them to the UAE. "They can be better rehabilitated in their home environment among their own people," he said. (The 'Gulf News' )
: President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan has donated $3 million to the Islamic Solidarity Fund. The chairman of the fund's permanent council, Nasser bin Abdullah Al Za'abi, said Sheikh Zayed's generous gesture showed his keenness to maintain and enhance Islamic solidarity and his appreciation of the educational, health and social assistance offered by the fund to Muslim and non-Muslim communities worldwide. Za'abi expressed thanks to Sheikh Zayed on behalf of the Jeddah-based fund, established in 1974. He added that Sheikh Zayed also makes an annual donation to the fund to enable it to offer aid to Muslims in various countries. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM )
: Preparations are being made for a UAE-U.S. programme to train the UAE Coast Guards in advanced methods of fighting cross-country crime. Staff Brig. Abdul Rahman Al Shelwah, Commander of the UAE Border and Coast Guard, said the U.S. Coast Guard would conduct the training this year. In an interview in the Sharjah Police Magazine, "Al Shurti", Shelwah said cross-country crime involved a person entering the country to commit a particular crime and then escaping. The Coast Guard plays a vital role in monitoring all land and sea ports and foiling attempts to infiltrate or smuggle in drugs and arms, he added. ID cards are checked and ships' documents are scrutinised closely. In addition, the activities at around 30 fishing ports were also being monitored. He said tight security had helped curb infiltration and drug trafficking. Statistics show a drop in the number of infiltrators. In 1996 there were 7,321. In 1997 there were 2,317 and a year later only 1,664. Most were Asians. Shelwah said Ras Al Khaimah ports were the most susceptible, registering 78.6 per cent of infiltration attempts last year. It has been found that those entering illegally often have a history of theft and forgery and thus are a threat to social security. (The 'Gulf News' )
: The National Consultative Council yesterday concluded discussions on recommendations making it mandatory for foreign companies to employ nationals in order to be considered for large contracts in Abu Dhabi. The recommendations were approved by the council in its June 21 meeting and passed to a committee for further discussion. Under the recommendations, foreign companies bidding for big contracts here must recruit nationals at all levels and guarantee better pay and working conditions for unskilled labourers. The proposals, mainly applying to projects worth more than Dh1 billion, will be submitted to Abu Dhabi Executive Council, which will consider their implementation. The aim of the proposals is to guarantee private sector jobs for nationals, mainly in engineering and administration. The Council suggested a clause in project contracts requiring the foreign companies to employ 10-20 per cent UAE nationals. The house said the clause included a guarantee of better salaries and work conditions for the UAE employees. The proposals also discourage companies from employing a cheap expatriate labour and urges them to allow nationals to take part-time jobs within the quota. (The 'Gulf News' )
: The UAE has made a decision which will eventually lead to a ban on the import of substances which damage the ozone layer. Hamad Abdul Rahman Al Madfa, Minister of Health and Chairman of the Federal Environment Agency, has also declared it illegal for firms to re-export these materials. The decision was announced yesterday by the Federal Environment Agency. Any company wishing to import ozone-unfriendly material must obtain prior permission from the agency. By 2005 it will be illegal to deal in any ozone depleting substances. Federal Environment Agency officials said the decision was a part of the UAE's efforts to conserve the environment and meet the Vienna and Montreal agreements on the protection of the ozone layer. FEA Director-General Salem Al Dhaheri said the ninth conference of the Vienna Agreement signatories agreed to keep the volume of ozone depletion substances at 1995 levels from next month. The conference also agreed to ban dealing in and using these substances from 2005. Under Article Five of the Montreal Protocol, signatories may continue to use harmful substances during the 10-year grace period which ends in 2005, provided per capita consumption is less than 0.3 kilos a year. "Although the UAE's consumption of ozone unfriendly substances does not exceed the rate prescribed in the Montreal Protocol, we are concerned about the re-export business, which is sometimes illegal," Al Dhaheri said. "The illegal re-export of these materials increases the consumption rate and subsequently takes the UAE off the list of countries covered by article five of the Montreal Protocol." Al Dhaheri said companies importing or exporting ozone depleting substances should register with the agency. They will then be given a quota. "It is expected that the customs authorities will ban the entry of these substances unless prior permission from the Federal Environment Agency has been issued." (The 'Gulf News' )
: The Abu Dhabi-based privately held company Abu Dhabi National Industrial Projects (Adnip) is setting up a Dh170 million plant to manufacture steel wire and rod with German collaboration. The products will be used by 12 other industries to be set up in due course, Adnip Chairman Mohammed Al Badie told Gulf News yesterday. Al Badie and Albrecht Koch, chairman of Duesseldorf-based Maschinenfabrik Ernst Koch GmbH and Co, yesterday signed the contract. Al Badie said Adnip will be the majority shareholder and the German company will hold 27.5 per cent and will be responsible for management and marketing. The project will be implemented in two phases. In the first phase 80,000 tonnes of steel wire, rod and reinforced mesh will be produced. The project developer is Abu Dhabi-based Business Enterprises Services (BES). Koch is a leader in manufacturing equipment to produce steel wire and has long experience in managing steel manufacturing plants, Al Badie said. AlBrecht said the project is of strategic interest and a great opportunity for the future of the steel industry in the UAE. Adnip, established in 1997, has several projects on hand including a medical equipment project, a carpet factory and a tissue paper plant in Dubai. (The 'Gulf News' )
: Fore Systems, a leading global supplier of networking solutions, yesterday announced it has been selected to supply the new high capacity network equipment for the Etisalat Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network including LAN and WAN. According to a Press release, under this contract, Fore Systems is working with Etisalat to deliver the scalable network equipment necessary to deliver high-speed network to all Etisalat branches in UAE. "Fore Systems has been awarded this multi-million dollar contract because of its ability to provide a reliable, scalable, flexible networking solution topped with our commitment to deliver state-of-the-art service and support for Etisalat," said Khalid Ashraq, regional director for Fore Systems Middle East. The contract was awarded to Alpha Data, Fore Systems authorised enterprise partners in the UAE. Ravi Mali, director of Enterprise Networking Division of Alpha Data said his company would go beyond the scope of the contract to make sure it exceeds Etisalat's expectations. (The 'Khaleej Times')
: The Emirates Group plans to strengthen its emiratisation programme by spending $10 million to train 200 UAE nationals annually for jobs with the airline, starting this year. The group's plans were announced at the first Emirates Job Fair, opened yesterday at the Dubai World Trade Centre by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman and President of Dubai Civil Aviation. "We are looking for nationals who have a degree, or those who have achieved good grades in high school. We do have jobs which do not require higher degrees, but the pay scale will not be attractive for school-leavers and university graduates." Sheikh Ahmed added that 26 per cent of the group's senior positions, from Grade 8 to management level, were occupied by nationals. According to Abdul Aziz Al Ali, General Manager for Human Resources, the group's total staff strength of 12,000 includes only 450 nationals. "We first began recruiting nationals in 1983-84, but as we were new in the industry we didn't have many applications. Today we receive applications in the thousands for our training programmes. "The most popular programmes are engineering, cadet pilot and commercial, which qualifies graduates for management positions in Dubai and our outstation offices." But he added that more nationals are needed in finance and as cabin crew. "We have 40 nationals employed as cabin crew but only four are women. Through the job fair and school seminars we are trying to overcome social and cultural restrictions and attract more national women into this sector." (The 'Gulf News' )
: Dubai was hit by a rare June sandstorm yesterday – only the fourth in this month since 1977. Weather forecasters said the sandstorm hit the airport at 7:30am, causing visibility to drop to as little as 300 metres as wind speed reached 20 knots. It cleared shortly before 1pm when visibility improved to six kilometres. This is the fourth time in 22 years that Dubai has been swept by winds of over 17 knots in June. The three other times were in June 1977, 1986 and 1990. But strong gusts are known to blow in the summer when the temperature soars well above 40 degrees celsius. Only slight damage was reported yesterday and airport operations were not interrupted. (The 'Gulf News' )
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