UAE GROK Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
UAE Launches National Nutrition Strategy [May 25]
“UAE launched a national nutrition strategy to help fight obesity and its related complications and may force fast food groups to inform people what exactly they are eating. Unhealthy eating and lack of exercise has given UAE the dubious distinction of being the country with the second-highest incidence of diabetes in the world. A 24 per cent of the population over 20 years of age suffers from the debilitating disease. The nutrition strategy will include educating people on what to eat to keep healthy, the need to do daily exercise and will promote breastfeeding. The five-year strategy was advised by the World Health Organisation. A WHO official said one of the recommendations is to force fast food groups to list the content of their foods..” [Complete Report]
Khalifa Confers UAE Order on Kazakhstan Premier [May 25]
“President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday received Karim Massimov, Prime Minister of Kazkhstan. Shaikh Khalifa conferred the ‘Order of Federation’ on Massimov. The Order, which is usually conferred on presidents and crown princes, was presented to Massimov to emphasise the friendly ties between the UAE and Kazakhstan. Shaikh Khalifa expressed his wish to further strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries. He also affirmed the UAE’s keenness to boost cooperation with Kazakh-stan by providing several areas of investment and expanding the prospects of joint cooperation. They discussed ways to bolster bilateral relations across various sectors for the benefit and prosperity of their respective citizens..” [Complete Report]
IMF May Boost U.A.E. Growth Forecast [May 25]
“The International Monetary Fund may revise higher its growth forecast for the United Arab Emirates amid expectations that a settlement to Dubai World’s $23.5 billion debt restructuring will boost the second-largest Arab economy, an official said. “We think its a very positive development,” Masood Ahmed, the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia director, told Zawya Dow Jones in an interview. “Once it’s implemented and completed it will help restore economic confidence in the market.” Last week, Dubai World reached a broad agreement to pay off its creditors and reduce its $23.5 billion of debt, lifting a cloud of uncertainty that hung over the emirate’s economy. According to the IMF, the U.A.E.’s economy will grow 1.3% this year after shrinking 0.7% in 2009 as the global financial crisis hit oil prices, the country’s main source of foreign currency income..” [Complete Report]
UAE to Plug Holes in the Legal, Financial System [May 25]
“”The UAE is introducing a wide-ranging programme to address regulatory and legal shortcomings in our financial system,” said Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, speaking at the Menasa forum yesterday. “Although we expect a return to high economic growth, it is critical that we urgently address the deeper risks and challenges that the economic crisis revealed.” He said this in his welcome address, and added that “in the coming years, fiscal policy measures combined with systemic reform will be vital to ensuring that the recovery becomes firmly entrenched in Menasa and that our growth remains strong, sustainable, and balanced”. Speaking of the potential of the Menasa region, he said: “The region has a population profile that is creating huge new demand, leading to production growth and greater diversification. The region’s large and mostly young population of 1.6 billion people is expected to grow at a rate of 1.4 per cent over the next decade.”..” [Complete Report]
