Why Arabs will go to Annapolis
This is one of those moments when the old adage, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade," applies. It's easy to find fault with the Bush Administration's many failures.
But anger at the many messes they have created won't bring the needed change. Finding a way forward is a responsibility we all share.
Let me explain.
I've long criticised this administration's foreign policy, arguing that its trademarks have been that:
- they neglect a problem when they might have taken action to solve it;
- they let ideology trump reality when they have become engaged; and
- they "spin" when they have failed, or try to change the subject by moving on to another front.
We are seeing all of these trademarks and their consequences playing out this week in the crises in Israel-Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Pakistan.
Past performance
Responding to so many crises at once can be a trying affair for even the most skilled of US administrations. And, given past performance, it is right to be concerned. But, at least in one of these crisis areas, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Bush Administration appears to be promoting a diplomatic initiative. Given seven years of neglect and/or blindness to Palestinians realities, and the lateness of the hour, chances for success may be slim. I'm not optimistic, but still want to be supportive of the effort.
I say this because the consequences of failure can only compound the devastation and trauma experienced by so many innocents.
It was the hubris of ideologues that brought on these crises. Neglect of diplomacy, a victor/vanquished mindset that placed emphasis on force over negotiations and reconciliation, and a failure to recognise the history and social realities in each of the countries in which they meddled - these have brought the region to where it is today.
The Bush Administration's maddening response to the chaos created by their meddling was to label it "the birth pangs of a new Middle East". But to the tens of thousands who have paid the ultimate price, and the millions whose lives and fortunes have been crushed, it was something else.
Nothing good has come from this state of affairs, and prolonging it will only make matters worse.
There is justifiable pique throughout the Middle East, and a deep frustration in the US. But there is too much at stake to let pride, anger, spite, or ideology rule our responses.
I have been critical of the Bush Administration's efforts in the lead-up to Annapolis. Given what is at stake, their performance has not equalled the seriousness of the moment. The meeting has been ill-prepared and is somewhat half-baked. Nevertheless, it is deserving of support on some level. The United Nations, the Arab League, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, and the European Union can each find a role to play, and have decided that the responsible thing to do would be to accept the challenge. If Israeli-Palestinian peace is required for regional movement on other issues as well as in its own right, and it is; and if Lebanese, Palestinian, Iraqi and Pakistani national reconciliation are needed, and they are - then efforts to address them must be pursued, by any and all who can play a role.
Uncomfortable
That is why I salute the Arabs who, despite their misgivings, will come to Annapolis next week. Some will come, simply to lend support to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Others will be there because, after pressing the US to become engaged, they feel uncomfortable disengaging themselves. They will offer aid and political backing - both needed ingredients to success. The burden will then be on the US to do, after Annapolis, what it failed to do before: to press Israel to deliver meaningful concessions in the interests of peace.
This effort may not perfect, but it is the lemons we have been given, and out of which we must make the best we can.
The lives of millions cannot wait 14 months for the outcome of an unpredictable American electoral process. I learned a long time ago that believing "it had to get worse before it got better" only ever resulted in "it getting worse".
It would be indecent to hope for failure, and shameful to stand by and let it happen.
/D.P.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Putin's flawed democracy
Putin's flawed democracy
In a Yekaterinburg university classroom in Russia's snowy northern Urals this week, Grigory Yavlinsky was in full flow. Students listened attentively to his message that President Vladimir Putin was re-creating a one-party state.
The only problem was he should have been giving a different speech.
For six months, Yavlinsky had expected to be keynote speaker at a conference on Russia's declining population being held on the same premises.
The night before, organisers called him to say his presence was not required. As a consolation, he could address an economics class. Such is life for an opposition leader campaigning for Russia's parliamentary elections on December 2 - even one who, unlike some more radical groups, remains within the system of "approved" parties that has emerged under Putin's Kremlin.
It is a life where meetings and appearances can suddenly be cancelled, election leaflets confiscated, or advertising yanked at the last moment. Yavlinsky said his Yabloko party had just had 100 billboards in St Petersburg taken down, apparently after official pressure on the site-owners.
The fiercely intelligent economist seems an unlikely bogeyman for the authorities. He has twice been a presidential candidate, though winning at best 7 per cent of the vote in 1996. He is wittily persuasive in public appearances, but hardly a rabble-rouser.
Meanwhile, splits in the liberal camp, and its associations in the public memory with the depredations of the 1990s shift to a market economy, mean Yabloko will almost certainly not pass the 7 per cent of votes needed under new rules to get into parliament this time.
With Yabloko set to have no representation for the first time since 1993, pollsters say some former supporters are shifting to United Russia, the pro-Kremlin party expected to win 60 per cent-plus, rather than waste their votes.
Mobilised
But such an array of what Russians call "administrative resources", or support from media, law enforcement and officialdom, has been mobilised behind United Russia that even marginal parties like Yabloko say they cannot campaign in peace.
Party aides say Yabloko's banned St Petersburg billboards had already been toned down under official pressure. A veiled swipe at plans by Gazprom, the gas monopoly, to build a controversial skyscraper in the historic city was swapped for the anodyne "A vote for Yabloko is a vote for St Petersburg". Yavlinsky said vehicles carrying its campaign leaflets in the Urals were repeatedly stopped for up to three hours by police who misused their legal right to check the contents.
Yabloko complained to Russia's central electoral commission and interior ministry this week about a series of alleged violations, including pressure on its voters in some areas.
In Russia as elsewhere TV exposure is a potent campaign tool. Yavlinsky managed three TV interviews in Yekaterinburg, Russia's fifth-biggest city, and got on to the air in several other cities. Aides say they tailored his campaign programme to avoid locations where it had been made clear he would not be welcome on TV.
Yet if Yabloko is finding it difficult to get its message across, United Russia, even with Putin heading its candidate list and the lion's share of TV time, seems to be struggling to excite Russians. On Yekaterinburg's streets this week, as many as three in four citizens expressed little interest in the elections.
At the local ESTV station, Elena Savitskaya, editor-in chief, said voter apathy, perhaps a byproduct of the lack of real competition, now seemed the authorities' biggest concern.
/D.P.
In a Yekaterinburg university classroom in Russia's snowy northern Urals this week, Grigory Yavlinsky was in full flow. Students listened attentively to his message that President Vladimir Putin was re-creating a one-party state.
The only problem was he should have been giving a different speech.
For six months, Yavlinsky had expected to be keynote speaker at a conference on Russia's declining population being held on the same premises.
The night before, organisers called him to say his presence was not required. As a consolation, he could address an economics class. Such is life for an opposition leader campaigning for Russia's parliamentary elections on December 2 - even one who, unlike some more radical groups, remains within the system of "approved" parties that has emerged under Putin's Kremlin.
It is a life where meetings and appearances can suddenly be cancelled, election leaflets confiscated, or advertising yanked at the last moment. Yavlinsky said his Yabloko party had just had 100 billboards in St Petersburg taken down, apparently after official pressure on the site-owners.
The fiercely intelligent economist seems an unlikely bogeyman for the authorities. He has twice been a presidential candidate, though winning at best 7 per cent of the vote in 1996. He is wittily persuasive in public appearances, but hardly a rabble-rouser.
Meanwhile, splits in the liberal camp, and its associations in the public memory with the depredations of the 1990s shift to a market economy, mean Yabloko will almost certainly not pass the 7 per cent of votes needed under new rules to get into parliament this time.
With Yabloko set to have no representation for the first time since 1993, pollsters say some former supporters are shifting to United Russia, the pro-Kremlin party expected to win 60 per cent-plus, rather than waste their votes.
Mobilised
But such an array of what Russians call "administrative resources", or support from media, law enforcement and officialdom, has been mobilised behind United Russia that even marginal parties like Yabloko say they cannot campaign in peace.
Party aides say Yabloko's banned St Petersburg billboards had already been toned down under official pressure. A veiled swipe at plans by Gazprom, the gas monopoly, to build a controversial skyscraper in the historic city was swapped for the anodyne "A vote for Yabloko is a vote for St Petersburg". Yavlinsky said vehicles carrying its campaign leaflets in the Urals were repeatedly stopped for up to three hours by police who misused their legal right to check the contents.
Yabloko complained to Russia's central electoral commission and interior ministry this week about a series of alleged violations, including pressure on its voters in some areas.
In Russia as elsewhere TV exposure is a potent campaign tool. Yavlinsky managed three TV interviews in Yekaterinburg, Russia's fifth-biggest city, and got on to the air in several other cities. Aides say they tailored his campaign programme to avoid locations where it had been made clear he would not be welcome on TV.
Yet if Yabloko is finding it difficult to get its message across, United Russia, even with Putin heading its candidate list and the lion's share of TV time, seems to be struggling to excite Russians. On Yekaterinburg's streets this week, as many as three in four citizens expressed little interest in the elections.
At the local ESTV station, Elena Savitskaya, editor-in chief, said voter apathy, perhaps a byproduct of the lack of real competition, now seemed the authorities' biggest concern.
/D.P.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
El. Venizelos Athens International Airport
What do you think of our International Airport?
Have you ever noticed that our International Airport is almost in a sleeping mode between hours 00:00am all the way through 04:00am and sometimes even during noon-hours in weekdays. I strongly believe that the airport is a great barometer of a country's economy-and a busy airport reflects a country that is booming. Greece is certainly not booming but is there a chance to transform Athens to an International Hub? A Hub that will be easily promoted through mandatory night stops from all guest airlines between all transits/transfer flights. - Let the big brains of this country contemplate the Hub's fate now...
/D.P.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Greeks Work Longer Than Other Europeans if not Harder. . .
Greeks work longer hours than their European Union counterparts said a report released by the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) covering the year 2000.
The EIRO report said that Greeks officially worked 42.3 hours weekly last year but the real figure was considered higher given the tendency of people to under-report their work hours.
The average working hours in Europe during 2000 was estimated at 38.1 slightly down from 38.6 in 1999, due to the extension of the standard 35-hour week in France. The standard work week in Greece was 40 hours in 2000 - reduced to 39 earlier this year.
European countries are divided into two groups, regarding the maximum permitted number of work hours weekly. The first group, with an upper limit of 48 hours, includes Greece, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the U.K. The second group, where the limit is very near to the standard number includes Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Austria.
/D.P.
The EIRO report said that Greeks officially worked 42.3 hours weekly last year but the real figure was considered higher given the tendency of people to under-report their work hours.
The average working hours in Europe during 2000 was estimated at 38.1 slightly down from 38.6 in 1999, due to the extension of the standard 35-hour week in France. The standard work week in Greece was 40 hours in 2000 - reduced to 39 earlier this year.
European countries are divided into two groups, regarding the maximum permitted number of work hours weekly. The first group, with an upper limit of 48 hours, includes Greece, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the U.K. The second group, where the limit is very near to the standard number includes Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Austria.
/D.P.
THE KOMBOLOI
The komboloi
A recent popular song used to declare: "I shall throw away my watch and buy a set of worry beads", which is exactly the symbolism of the komboloi. Even today you can see, usually, an elderly man dawdling along the pier, his hands behind his back playing around with the beads. Or men (usually) sitting around the kafenion table, arguing, and playing on their beads with a greater degree of agitation as the argument heats up. These beads are not religious, they are not some kind of Orthodox rosary (though you will see many priests swinging them along as well), they are just a way of passing the time, keeping your hands occupied, which is why in recent time they have been promoted as an excellent way to give up smoking. In recent times also, more and more women have taken up the habit of swinging around a set of worry beads which was never done before, but that is why more sophisticated fashion conscious (even designer?) sets of worry beads are being produced more and more. As to whether they do help give up smoking...? Well, another dismal statistic is that Greek women have started to smoke more than ever before!
/D.P.
A recent popular song used to declare: "I shall throw away my watch and buy a set of worry beads", which is exactly the symbolism of the komboloi. Even today you can see, usually, an elderly man dawdling along the pier, his hands behind his back playing around with the beads. Or men (usually) sitting around the kafenion table, arguing, and playing on their beads with a greater degree of agitation as the argument heats up. These beads are not religious, they are not some kind of Orthodox rosary (though you will see many priests swinging them along as well), they are just a way of passing the time, keeping your hands occupied, which is why in recent time they have been promoted as an excellent way to give up smoking. In recent times also, more and more women have taken up the habit of swinging around a set of worry beads which was never done before, but that is why more sophisticated fashion conscious (even designer?) sets of worry beads are being produced more and more. As to whether they do help give up smoking...? Well, another dismal statistic is that Greek women have started to smoke more than ever before!
/D.P.
THE KAFENION
The kafenion
The English gentleman has his club, the Greek, gentleman and peasant alike, have their kafenion. This is literally the coffee shop but which offers so much more than just coffee. It is of course, the local debating society, where newspapers are read and opinions loudly exchanged. It is also the local "exchange", where business is discussed and deals are made. It is also the gossip exchange center and the source of all rumours, true or false, but perhaps above all, it is a sanctuary, where a man can come and let off steam and unwind. And it is his gaming hall, where he will find people to play cards and, above all tavli with. Whether these are relaxing pursuits or in fact tiring endeavours is a different matter.
/D.P.
The English gentleman has his club, the Greek, gentleman and peasant alike, have their kafenion. This is literally the coffee shop but which offers so much more than just coffee. It is of course, the local debating society, where newspapers are read and opinions loudly exchanged. It is also the local "exchange", where business is discussed and deals are made. It is also the gossip exchange center and the source of all rumours, true or false, but perhaps above all, it is a sanctuary, where a man can come and let off steam and unwind. And it is his gaming hall, where he will find people to play cards and, above all tavli with. Whether these are relaxing pursuits or in fact tiring endeavours is a different matter.
/D.P.
CHINA WORKERS
They have no social or medical insurance, no unemployment or housing benefits,
no trade unions, no education rights for their children, and no written contracts with employers.
They live in monitored and controlled compounds...must beg permission to go outside.
They sleep in crude dormitory rooms of 20 square metres, usually shared with 15 to 20 workers.
They earn as little as $1 for a 12-hour day, far below the supposed minimum wage.
They work for six or seven days a week, sometimes for days and nights without a break...
More than 70 per cent of migrant workers are owed money by their employers
who hire thugs to assault those who demand their wages.
/Dimitris
no trade unions, no education rights for their children, and no written contracts with employers.
They live in monitored and controlled compounds...must beg permission to go outside.
They sleep in crude dormitory rooms of 20 square metres, usually shared with 15 to 20 workers.
They earn as little as $1 for a 12-hour day, far below the supposed minimum wage.
They work for six or seven days a week, sometimes for days and nights without a break...
More than 70 per cent of migrant workers are owed money by their employers
who hire thugs to assault those who demand their wages.
/Dimitris
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Go for a new system of stability
For some time the conventional wisdom about the Middle East has claimed that we are in a restaurant with a two-item menu.
One item is Pax Americana, a balance of power shaped in Washington and imposed by the United States' economic and military power. The other, under the label Pax Iranica, is devised by the radical Khomeinist regime in Tehran.
Without implying moral equivalence between the two, one must note that both emerged in response to a real need: a new system of stability in the region.
With the Khomeinist revolution in Iran, the end of the Cold War, and the collapse of the Taliban in Kabul and the Baathists in Baghdad, the traditional equilibrium shaped over decades was destroyed, leaving in its place instability, chaos and war.
The situation has been further complicated by divisions among the Palestinians, now effectively carved into two mutually hostile camps, and the threat of a new civil war in Lebanon.
The recent diplomatic tour of several European and Middle Eastern nations undertaken by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and hailed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel as "the emergence of a voice that deserves to be heard all over the world", was designed to convey a different message.
What was the message that seems to have attracted attention in places as far apart as Britain, the Vatican, Germany and Turkey?
The heart of the message consists of two assertions.
The first is that the Middle East is a far more complicated place. The second is that options for evolving a new balance of power in the region are less limited than the choice between Pax Americana and Pax Iranica might suggest.
At a joint press conference with his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez in Tehran last week, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that the attempt to impose a Pax Americana had failed, implying that time was coming for the Pax Iranica.
Tehran and Washington are already engaged in what could be described as a lukewarm war. They are fighting through proxies in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Transcaucasus, Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories among other places. Some analysts even expect the two adversaries to come to direct blows before President George W. Bush leaves the White House in January 2009.
The truth, however, is that neither of the two rivals has what it takes to impose a new status quo in what is the world's most conflict-ridden region.
Despite its economic power and military might, the US is hampered by its internal divisions and evident lack of popular support for any peace-making scheme on the grand scale. Building stability is a long-term job, unsuited to the current American mood of impatience not to say fickleness.
To complicate matters further, there is no evidence that the US could mobilise enough popular forces within the region to back whatever it has to offer. Iran's claim of leadership is equally open to question. Although Tehran has the means to wage low intensity war in many theatres at the same time, it lacks the wherewithal for major conflict for any length of time.
More importantly, perhaps, the Khomeinist ideology has failed to win any significant level of popular support in the region, outside Lebanon.
Lack of ability
The Saudi sovereign's tour reminded many that a majority of the region's states and nations do not wish to be drawn into a Manichaean conflict that could lead to war.
The US maybe the last remaining "superpower" but, alone, it does not have the ability to decide the fate of the Middle East. Iran, for its part, may be a mini "superpower" in terms of the mischief it can make. However, it, too, lacks the staying power required for building empires.
To be stable, any new equilibrium in the greater Middle East would have to reflect the diversity of the region. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, plus Yemen which has drawn closer to them in recent years, could provide one piece of the new jigsaw.
To these must be added other pieces of stability, notably Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Anxious to reclaim its historical role in the region, Turkey would provide another piece.
In time, new Iraq, which seems to have halted its slide into chaos, would also add an important piece as will Afghanistan under its new system. There is even the hope that Pakistan, currently passing through a major crisis, might become a contributor to stability under a new government.
The Saudi sovereign invited his hosts to pay attention to the fact that the forces of moderation still represent the largest constituency throughout the region.
In almost all parts of the region, the politics of moderation, economic development and reform enjoy much wider support than presumed. Every country in the region needs reform, albeit at its own pace and in accordance with its own moral and political potentials. Fear of change would only play into the hands of those preaching a cult of violent rupture.
Despite their obvious shortcomings such structures as the GCC, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Conference, and the less formal ones such as the Group of Eight Muslim nations, can and must be considered as so many bricks in building a new stability in the region.
At the same time, The European Union, China, India and Russia can, and must, also make their distinct contributions to building a new status quo in a region that is vital to them all.
The Middle East has been called an "Arc of Crisis". Changing its appellation to an "Arc of Peace" cannot be achieved by a single power or "superpower." The mischief of the few might be sufficient to provoke war. To make peace, however, the efforts of the many are needed.
OMAN
Sultan Qaboos waives fees for land
Muscat: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed has exempted disabled citizens from paying fees for plots allotted by the government.
The Royal Grant by the Omani leader was done during Oman’s 37th National Day celebrations on Sunday.
Under the grant, the disabled Omanis have been exempted from the fees payable for the ownership of government land plots granted to them.
The grant exempts the disabled who receive less than 200 Omani riyals per month, while the disabled whose monthly salaries range between 200 and 300 riyals are exempted from 50 per cent of the fees.
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)
Basic Data
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)
Member states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
Secretary-general:
Abdul-Rahman Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah
Population 32,9 million (2003)
Surface 2,476 million km²
GDP €370 billion (2004)
GDP per capita 11.244 euro
Real GDP 5% growth) 5,7 (2004)
Kingdom of Bahrain
Head of state:
King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, since March 1999
Population 0,77 million (2004 official estimate)
Illiteracy among adults 9,5 % male/ 17,8 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate €9 billion / 5,5 % (2004)
GDP per capita €11.133 (2004)
Surface 695 km2
State of Kuwait (emirate)
Head of state:
Emir Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber since 1977
Population / growth rate 2,6 million / 3,5 % (2004)
Illiteracy among adults 16 % male/ 20.6 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate €42 billion / 7,2 % (2004)
GDP per capita €15.724
Surface 17.818 km
Sultanate of Oman
Head of state:
Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said since 1970
Population / growth rate 2.4 million / 3 % (2004)
Illiteracy among adults 20.9 % male/ 40.4 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate € 20 billion euro / 2.5 %
GDP per capita growth rate2 € 8.312
Surface1 212.000 km2
State of Qatar (emirate)
Head of state:
Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani since 1995
Population / growth rate1 0.75 million / 1.8 % (2004)
Illiteracy among adults 19.9 % male/ 17.4 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate €23 billion / 9,9% (2004)
GDP per capita2 €30.235
Surface1 11 km2
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Head of state:
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, since 2005
Population / growth rate 25 million / 2,4% (2004)
Illiteracy among adults 16.5 % male/ 34.1 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate2 €200 billion / 5,3 % (2004)
GDP per capita2 €8.016
Surface1 2.150.000 km2
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Federation of seven emirates
President of the Supreme Council:
Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan
Population / growth rate1 4,3 million / 5,5 % (2004)
Illiteracy among adults 26.2 % male/ 22 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate €77 billion / 5,7 % (2004)
GDP per capita €17.700 (2004)
Surface 84.000 km2
Sources: DG Trade (statistics), UNDP
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)
Member states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
Secretary-general:
Abdul-Rahman Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah
Population 32,9 million (2003)
Surface 2,476 million km²
GDP €370 billion (2004)
GDP per capita 11.244 euro
Real GDP 5% growth) 5,7 (2004)
Kingdom of Bahrain
Head of state:
King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, since March 1999
Population 0,77 million (2004 official estimate)
Illiteracy among adults 9,5 % male/ 17,8 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate €9 billion / 5,5 % (2004)
GDP per capita €11.133 (2004)
Surface 695 km2
State of Kuwait (emirate)
Head of state:
Emir Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber since 1977
Population / growth rate 2,6 million / 3,5 % (2004)
Illiteracy among adults 16 % male/ 20.6 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate €42 billion / 7,2 % (2004)
GDP per capita €15.724
Surface 17.818 km
Sultanate of Oman
Head of state:
Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said since 1970
Population / growth rate 2.4 million / 3 % (2004)
Illiteracy among adults 20.9 % male/ 40.4 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate € 20 billion euro / 2.5 %
GDP per capita growth rate2 € 8.312
Surface1 212.000 km2
State of Qatar (emirate)
Head of state:
Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani since 1995
Population / growth rate1 0.75 million / 1.8 % (2004)
Illiteracy among adults 19.9 % male/ 17.4 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate €23 billion / 9,9% (2004)
GDP per capita2 €30.235
Surface1 11 km2
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Head of state:
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, since 2005
Population / growth rate 25 million / 2,4% (2004)
Illiteracy among adults 16.5 % male/ 34.1 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate2 €200 billion / 5,3 % (2004)
GDP per capita2 €8.016
Surface1 2.150.000 km2
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Federation of seven emirates
President of the Supreme Council:
Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan
Population / growth rate1 4,3 million / 5,5 % (2004)
Illiteracy among adults 26.2 % male/ 22 % fem.
GDP / real growth rate €77 billion / 5,7 % (2004)
GDP per capita €17.700 (2004)
Surface 84.000 km2
Sources: DG Trade (statistics), UNDP
The Secret to Business Success: Diligence
Everyone enters into self employment for different reasons. It is a tough but rewarding road to travel. There are numerous challenges along the way. If you have ever written a business plan or run a business for a long time, you know there are days that are just plain depressing. Do not lose heart! There is light at the end of the tunnel. In the meantime, you will need a full measure of entrepreneurial strength and diligence.
The Merriam - Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary states that diligence is the attention and care legally expected or required of a person (as a party to a contract)
No doubt you will enter into a number of contracts over the life of your business, so this is an important concept. I have to admit that there are days when I do not ‘feel diligent’ and it is tempting to take a short cut. I have found that the shortcuts are really the longest trips, sometimes.
The above definition states ‘the attention and care legally expected or required’ which infers compliance with a set of standards of corporate behavior. Here is a short list of areas that have an expectation of diligence from business owners:
-Accounting records.
-Paying your taxes.
-Paying your bills.
-Hiring and firing of staff.
-Partners or shareholders.
I am sure that this list is actually much longer; however, the principle is the same. Owning and running a business is an endurance race not a sprint! You have to be in good shape and be willing to work hard.
All of your customers and prospects have expectations of performance. At a minimum they have certain things they require in order to feel they are getting value and being well treated. In my opinion, diligence is always thinking and working in your customer’s best interest. It is always easier to keep a customer’s trust and confidence than it is to try to earn it back after you falter or disappoint.
So how can an entrepreneur be diligent?
Avoid laziness and needless shortcuts.
Improve your skills: be willing to learn what you do not understand or know.
Be accountable: avoid blaming others.
Even when you feel tired or have conflicting priorities always do the right thing.
Invest in people, sow seeds of hard work and honesty.
Be a good manager: would you hire yourself to run your business? If not, shape up and hold yourself to the same standards as you expect of an employee.
Work hard.
The reward is a good nights sleep, satisfaction, pride and the knowledge that you are making a difference by being diligent. You just might be a great mentor or coach for someone else; be open to it!
The Merriam - Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary states that diligence is the attention and care legally expected or required of a person (as a party to a contract)
No doubt you will enter into a number of contracts over the life of your business, so this is an important concept. I have to admit that there are days when I do not ‘feel diligent’ and it is tempting to take a short cut. I have found that the shortcuts are really the longest trips, sometimes.
The above definition states ‘the attention and care legally expected or required’ which infers compliance with a set of standards of corporate behavior. Here is a short list of areas that have an expectation of diligence from business owners:
-Accounting records.
-Paying your taxes.
-Paying your bills.
-Hiring and firing of staff.
-Partners or shareholders.
I am sure that this list is actually much longer; however, the principle is the same. Owning and running a business is an endurance race not a sprint! You have to be in good shape and be willing to work hard.
All of your customers and prospects have expectations of performance. At a minimum they have certain things they require in order to feel they are getting value and being well treated. In my opinion, diligence is always thinking and working in your customer’s best interest. It is always easier to keep a customer’s trust and confidence than it is to try to earn it back after you falter or disappoint.
So how can an entrepreneur be diligent?
Avoid laziness and needless shortcuts.
Improve your skills: be willing to learn what you do not understand or know.
Be accountable: avoid blaming others.
Even when you feel tired or have conflicting priorities always do the right thing.
Invest in people, sow seeds of hard work and honesty.
Be a good manager: would you hire yourself to run your business? If not, shape up and hold yourself to the same standards as you expect of an employee.
Work hard.
The reward is a good nights sleep, satisfaction, pride and the knowledge that you are making a difference by being diligent. You just might be a great mentor or coach for someone else; be open to it!
The Lagoons
Dubai Megaprojects
From a desert oasis to an international metropolis - Dubai has every right to be dubbed the Gulf's most exciting city.The emirate is currently engaged in a multi-billion dollar building phase, which will transform its skyline, add hundreds of kilometres to its beachfront and push development way out into the desert. Click on the links above to find out more about each of the main projects currently taking place in Dubai.
"The Lagoons" project info...
Developer: Sama Dubai
Key dates: Completion: 2010
Size: 95 million square feet
Type: 61% residential; 24% offices; 5% hotels; 5% retail and 6% for community facilities/others
Estimated total population: More than 150,000
Key features: Seven detached islands, plus the Opera House Island
Investment figure: Dh65 billion
Land ownership: Freehold
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Mideast tourism revenues to hit $51b !
Middle East tourism revenues will more than double to $51 billion and visitor arrivals are expected to grow by 66 per cent in four years as the tourism sector continues its strong growth in the region, according to a study.
The UAE will be the second biggest earner of tourism revenues after Saudi Arabia, which is aided by a strong domestic travel sector and pilgrim spending.
Tourism revenue in the Middle East is expected to grow 108 per cent to almost $51 billion and domestic tourism 82 per cent to $24 billion in 2011, said the report on tourism trends, released on the opening day of the four-day World Travel Market exhibition in London (WTM) yesterday.
It forecasts the number of inbound tourists to the Middle East will grow 66 per cent to 55 million by 2011.
Dubai's success in establishing itself as a tourist destination is spurring other countries in the region to invest in diversifying their economies.
Last year, Dubai attracted about 6.5 million tourists, according to Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
The travel industry should improve efforts to target visitors from within the region and create specific packages that take into account their religious and cultural values, the report prepared by market intelligence firm Euromonitor International said.
That's what happens if you maintain and "feed" your apetite for touristic development in your country. It's just a matter of will.
The UAE will be the second biggest earner of tourism revenues after Saudi Arabia, which is aided by a strong domestic travel sector and pilgrim spending.
Tourism revenue in the Middle East is expected to grow 108 per cent to almost $51 billion and domestic tourism 82 per cent to $24 billion in 2011, said the report on tourism trends, released on the opening day of the four-day World Travel Market exhibition in London (WTM) yesterday.
It forecasts the number of inbound tourists to the Middle East will grow 66 per cent to 55 million by 2011.
Dubai's success in establishing itself as a tourist destination is spurring other countries in the region to invest in diversifying their economies.
Last year, Dubai attracted about 6.5 million tourists, according to Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
The travel industry should improve efforts to target visitors from within the region and create specific packages that take into account their religious and cultural values, the report prepared by market intelligence firm Euromonitor International said.
That's what happens if you maintain and "feed" your apetite for touristic development in your country. It's just a matter of will.
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