UAE Female Joins BRICS New Development Bank Board

Thuraiya Hamid Alhashmi - WAM
Thuraiya Hamid Alhashmi - WAM
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UAE Female Joins BRICS New Development Bank Board

Thuraiya Hamid Alhashmi - WAM
Thuraiya Hamid Alhashmi - WAM

BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) has elected Thuraiya Hamid Alhashmi, Director of International Financial Relations and Organizations Department at the UAE Ministry of Finance, as a member of its Board of Directors and a Constituency Director.

She was appointed following an internal voting process during NDB’s 8th Annual Meeting, held recently in Shanghai, China, WAM reported.

Thuraiya Alhashmi will become the first Emirati and Arab woman to assume a Director’s position at the New Development Bank, which was established in July 2015 by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS).

The UAE joined BRICS’ NDB in October 2021 following Cabinet Resolution No. (19)/3 of 2021. The UAE is represented on NDB’s Board of Governors by Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, as Governor, and Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Finance, in his capacity as Alternate Governor.

The UAE actively engages in NDB’s regular meetings, as well as in the seminars, workshops, and discussions that take place on sidelines of these meetings, which focus on topics including deploying innovation to advance development policies, funding solutions and advanced digital infrastructure.

The New Development Bank was established by BRICS countries following an agreement that was signed by the leaders during the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza in 2014.

It complements efforts of multilateral financial institutions for global development, while supporting collective commitments to attaining robust, sustainable, and balanced growth. NDB’s operations focus on a range of key areas, including financing infrastructure projects and achieving sustainable development.

Since its establishment, it approved over 90 projects for a total amount around US$32 billion, supporting transport, water and sanitation, digital and social infrastructures, and clean energy.

Thuraiya Hamid Alhashmi holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the American University of Sharjah, and a master’s degree in international business from Tufts University, USA. She has been working at the Ministry of Finance since March 2020 as Director of International Financial Relations and Organizations Department.

Alhashmi was involved in managing the UAE’s relationship with international financial organizations, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), NDB, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the G20 Finance Track.

She has also represented the UAE in numerous international meetings and forums. Alhashmi also sits on the boards of multiple international institutions.



China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy.
Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry is being increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and people participating in exchanges will be eligible for the first time. China has been pushing people-to-people exchange between students, academics and others to try to improve its sometimes strained relations with other countries, The Associated Press reported.
China strictly restricted entry during the pandemic and ended its restrictions much later than most other countries. It restored the previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and then expanded visa-free entry to six more countries — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia — on Dec. 1 of last year.
The program has since been expanded in tranches. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, notably Thailand, which wants to bring back Chinese tourists.
For the three months from July through September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.