UAE : Federal Supreme Council elects Mohamed bin Zayed as UAE President: May 14th, 2022

The Federal Supreme Council today unanimously elected His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as President of the United Arab Emirates.

The Council held a meeting today at Al Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi, chaired by Huis Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

The meeting was attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah; H.H. Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ajman; H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah; H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mu’alla, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Umm Al Qaiwain; and H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs said that according to Article 51 of the Constitution, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was unanimously elected as the President of the UAE to succeed the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan .

Their Highnesses, the Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates have reaffirmed their keenness to continue implementing the authentic values and principles laid down by the late deceased, Sheikh Khalifa, following on from the founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. These have consolidated the UAE’s status at both regional and global levels.

The Federal Supreme Council expressed its full confidence that the people of the UAE will remain, as Sheikh Zayed and the founders believed, “a faithful guardian of the Union and its gains at all levels”.

Their Highnesses wished H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan success in serving his people and country.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed expressed his appreciation for the precious trust placed in him by his brothers, Their Highnesses the Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates, praying to the Almighty to guide and help him to bear the responsibility of this great trust and to fulfil its tasks of serving his country and people.

source/content: wam.ae

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.)

Ghalia Benali: Tunisian Singer, Writer, Graphic Designer & Actress

An electrifying voice.

Ghalia Benali is a Tunisian poet, writer, and songwriter best known for dabbling in multiple music genres, multiculturalism, and defining contemporary Arabic music. She is also an actress and a graphic designer, a talent that goes hand-in-hand with her literature works such as “Romeo and Leila.”

Although born in Brussels in 1968, Benali was raised in Zarzis, in southeastern Tunisia, where she got her early exposure to songs and dances, with her mother being her personal music teacher. Growing up, she was exposed to the world of Egyptian and Indian films, as well as the voices of Arab singers such as Adib AlDayikh, Oum Kalthoum, and Sabah Fakhri, all of which influenced her multicultural style of singing growing up.

By the age of 19, Benali returned to Belgium to study graphic design at the Institut Saint-Luc of Graphic Arts where she would begin to sing and perform professionally. Her early performances would include collaborations with live bands and fellow musicians in 1993, a tour in Portugal in 1994, and a live performance with the band “Timna,” in Brussels, in 1999.

From 2001, she released a number of loved albums such as “Wild Harissa,” “Nada,” and “Romeo and Leila.” However, the very album that put her on the map was “Ghalia Benali Sings Umm Kulthum.” In fact, it was a smashing hit, earning her the title Ambassador of Arab Culture in Europe in 2009. By the following year, Benali would be featured on television across several Arab countries.

Benali is also renowned for her poetry, some of which centered around works by famous poets, Sufism, and Persian mystics. She is also known for her acting, winning an award from Women for Africa Foundation for her role in “As I Open My Eyes” in 2016, and nominated by Les Magrittes du Cinema for “Best Hope Actress” in 2017. She had played recent roles in the films “Fatwa,” and “A Tale of Love and Desire.”

Finally, Benali is credited for launching the Brussels-based MWSOUL Art Foundation. Having had to deal with unorganized management, she took it upon herself to launch her very own platform, a non-profit organization that brings awareness through art. You can follow them on Instagram for featured artworks and photography.

source/content: abouther.com

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BELGIAN / TUNISIAN

Faouzi Annajah: Moroccan-French Businessman Behind Hydrogen SUV NamX

NamX’s prototype was unveiled earlier this week. Yet the car will not be available in the market until 2025.

Morocco-French businessman Faouzi Annajah, founder of NamX, has co-created the world’s first car partially powered by a patented removable hydrogen tank system.

NamX’s patented technology consists of a fixed hydrogen tank and six removable capsules. 

Set to be released in 2025, NamX responds to the rising demand for hydrogen and hybrid cars amid an increasingly prevailing shift towards clean energy sources and decarbonization worldwide. 

“Our double ambition is to become a new reference in the world of zero-emission cars, and to constantly explore new territories to facilitate mobility of our consumers,” Faouzi ANNAJAH, Founder and President of NAMX said in a press release. “ NAMX is a collective project built with the best industrial and technical partners in Europe and Africa.”

The European-African project gathered the support of renowned stakeholders on both continents including Ibrahima Sissoko, founder of over 30 companies, Pierre-Yves Geels, former VP strategy of Matra automotive, Alain Diboine, former Director of the R&D Division at Renault, Mustapha Mokass, clean energy and carbon finance expert, and Raphaël Schoetgen, former Chairman of Hydrogen Europe and international hydrogen expert. 

NamX was co-designed by Thomas de Lussac, co-founder of NamX, and Kevin Rice, Chief Creative Officer of Italian car design firm Pininfarina. Inspired by science fiction and American designs of the 50s and 60s, Lussac “chose to give the vehicle’s shape the cutting edge of the coming era.”

NamX is the first car designed by Pininfarina that was created from the back to the front with an eye-catching feature, an X-shaped chassis. 

Commenting on the hydrogen SUV, Paolo Pininfarina, President of the Italian design firm, said that “the NAMX HUV [hybrid utility vehicle] is simply at the heart of our DNA: inventing the best driving experience to infinite mobility, with style.” 

Upon its release in the final quarter of 2025, NamX will be marketed in two different versions including an entry-level rear-wheel drive with a regulated top speed of 200 km/h and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds. The second option provides a four-wheel drive with a regulated top speed of 250 km/h and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds. 

The two versions will have a price tag ranging between €65,000 and €95,000. 

The NamX prototype was first unveiled on May 11 in the Pininfarina headquarters in Cambiano. The public will have a glimpse of NamX at the upcoming Paris Motor Show scheduled between October  17 and 23, 2022. 

As Annajah’s home country, Morocco might host the production operations of NamX, the founder told a Moroccan news outlet, promising future announcements on the matter. 

As a leading African automotive hub, Morocco has attracted renowned international automotive manufacturers including ones interested in developing hybrid and electric cars. 

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com

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Faouzi Annajah: Moroccan-French Businessman Behind Hydrogen SUV NamX

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FRENCH / MOROCCAN

UAE : Khalifa bin Zayed: 18 years of empowerment

 “While people are proud of their achievements, we are proud of being the children of Sheikh Zayed, and while people talk of their history, we speak of the history of giving that began with the formation of the UAE,” said the late His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, epitomising the nations’s approach from the first day it was established to its phase of empowerment, ushering in the birth of a powerful and successful nation.

On 4th November, 2004, Sheikh Khalifa assumed power and, up until his passing, helped the country, whose track record of achievements spans nearly 35 years, progress from the foundation phase to the empowerment stage.

Over this short period, the UAE has topped international competitiveness indexes and has become the second-largest economy in the Arab region, despite its small area and population.

Moreover, the UAE is the first Arab and Islamic nation to reach the planet Mars and one among few countries with significant achievements in the space sector.

The UAE’s achievements during the empowerment phase are reflected on the lives of its people and business community, making it the dream destination of anyone seeking success, stability, and wellbeing.

After assuming power, the late Sheikh Khalifa launched the first strategic plan of the UAE Government to achieve balanced and sustainable development and ensure the wellbeing of UAE residents.

In 2009, he was re-elected as the President of the country, and thanks to his wise leadership, the UAE overcame the financial crises and political issues facing the region due to his active foreign policy, which also enhanced the regional and international stature of the country.

How did the UAE manage to accomplish significant achievements during the empowerment phase? The Emirates News Agency (WAM) monitors these milestones and challenges in the following report:

1. The Health Sector.

The UAE’s leadership has prioritised the health sector and increased public spending on the sector, amounting at times to seven percent of the federal budget.

This fact is highlighted by the spending on the sector in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, which amounted to AED3.83 billion, AED4.2 billion, AED4.5 billion, AED4.4 billion and AED4.84 billion, respectively.

This policy also proved successful when the sector faced the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, demonstrating a high level of efficiency supported by the many well-equipped public and private hospitals.

The sector’s efficiency was further supported by the country’s efforts to establish media cities, including Khalifa City in Abu Dhabi, Dubai Medical City and Sharjah City.

Coinciding with these achievements, most Emirati hospitals are internationally accredited, and the country has become a leading medical destination, underpinned by the rising number of hospitals, which increased from 16 in 1975 to 169 in 2020.

These hospitals are managed by highly qualified medical staff, numbering 8,995 in 2020 in the government sector and 17,136 in the private sector, compared to 792 doctors in 1975.

The number of nurses also reached 56,045 working in the government sector in 2020, increasing 252 percent compared to 1975.

The country has prioritised health insurance and provided it to citizens for free, in addition to comprehensive medical coverage for all segments of society, especially the elderly and people of determination.

In 2017, the UAE established the first cancer treatment centre utilising proton technology in the Middle East and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

The Emirates was also one of the first countries to use robotics in the pharmaceutical sector.

Smart rooms were established to provide entertainment services to patients and link their medical files with hospitals to provide comprehensive and effective care.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention has been keen to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) in medical services, used in over 100 facilities nationwide.

The UAE ranks first in the world in the number of accredited facilities, and more than 85 percent of Emirati hospitals have international accreditation.

2. Education Sector.

The UAE’s spending on the health and education sectors underscores the leadership’s belief in the importance of these two sectors to achieving sustainable development, with spending from 2016 to 2020 accounting for between 20 percent and 22 percent respectively of the federal budget.

With the budget allocated to the national education sector standing at AED10.41 billion, AED10.46 billion, AED10.40 billion, AED10.2 billion and AED6.536 billion for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively, the average share of the federal budget is 15 percent.

The UAE believes that the education system is the driver of development and ensures the right to free education for all citizens. From 2012, education became mandatory for everyone over the age of six until secondary education, which was reinforced by issuing the Children’s Rights Law (Wadeema).

The UAE’s education strategy confirms the establishment of an educational system based on the skills of the 21st century. It aims to provide higher education that can compete with the world’s best universities.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Initiative, launched in 2012, is an ideal model covering all schools in the country and creates a new educational environment in schools that includes smart classes.

In 1973, the country had 110 schools with 40,000 students, while in 2007, the percentage of educated citizens reached 88.7 percent of the population.

The UAE Vision 2021 highlighted the need to advance education in the country to the highest in the world and adopt a smart system as a primary goal.

The vision also confirmed that the upcoming years would witness comprehensive transformations in learning and education, led by smart education.

The national education strategy aims to ensure equal education, maintain the quality and efficiency of institutional education, promote scientific research, encourage students to enrol in higher education, achieve innovation, and support smart education.

Subsequently, the National Strategy for Higher Education 2030 affirms the importance of improving the scientific and technical skills of students, to support the growth of the economy.

At the same time, the UAE has kept pace with the latest innovations in the health sector. The government has launched many initiatives that encourage innovation in general and innovation in the medical field in particular.

The UAE is one of the few countries that utilises medical robotics technology when conducting major surgeries.

President Khalifa bin Zayed passed away on Friday, May 13th, 2022

source/content: wam.ae

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.)