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Abu Dhabi Reveals New Strategy to Accelerate Growth of Culture and Creative Industries

Louvre Abu Dhabi
Louvre Abu Dhabi
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Abu Dhabi Reveals New Strategy to Accelerate Growth of Culture and Creative Industries

Louvre Abu Dhabi
Louvre Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is accelerating the growth of the Culture and Creative Industries (CCI) through a AED30+ billion investment strategy that sees the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) cements its leadership position as the custodian of all the multidisciplinary sectors within the CCI.

The Culture and Creative Industries are key drivers of social and economic growth and diversification in Abu Dhabi. One of the fastest growing economic sectors worldwide, globally they generate annual revenues of $2,250 billion, provide 30 million jobs and are predicted to make up some 10% of global GDP.

In addition to this rapid acceleration, studies show that the CCI demonstrate considerable resilience and adaptability in the face of changing economic dynamics. As the world emerges from the effects of the global pandemic, the sector’s high-value products and services have the power to support a new economic recovery, one that is more environmentally friendly and based on knowledge and new technologies, state news agency WAM reported.

To capitalize on this growth, Abu Dhabi has invested significantly and strategically to create thriving Culture and Creative Industries, with an overall planned investment in excess of AED30 billion. Over the past five years, AED8.5 billion has been committed across the emirate, including in flagship projects such as Yas Creative Hub – the emirate’s new home for media and gaming - and Saadiyat Cultural District, as well as soft infrastructure initiatives such as the Creative Visa, announced earlier this year.

The Creative Visa program will provide sustainable employment opportunities in Abu Dhabi by enabling talented creative professionals from around the world to live and work in the UAE, further bolstering the creative scene in the emirate.

A further AED22 billion is expected to be rolled out across the industry over the next five years, with a substantial portion to be deployed in the development and support of cultural institutions, mainly new museums, including the upcoming Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, as well as additional museums in the pipeline. The emirate’s performing arts, music, media and gaming sectors will also see further investment in their diverse array of program and initiatives.

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: "DCT Abu Dhabi’s Culture and Creative Industry (CCI) Strategy was launched in 2019 to position Abu Dhabi as a recognized cultural and creative center that attracts, incubates and supports talented professionals and creative businesses, accelerating the emirate’s ambition to become a leading regional producer and exporter of creative and cultural content."

"We see the Culture and Creative Industries as a powerful driver of economic diversification as well as defining pillars of the emirate’s identity. Through Abu Dhabi’s pioneering leadership, we will champion all CCI domains to transcend borders and reach global audiences and communities."

Also, Saood Al Hosani, Undersecretary of DCT Abu Dhabi, said that The Culture and Creative Industries are a "significant contributor to the global and local economies."

"Today, Abu Dhabi supports more than 20,000 sustainable jobs in the field, and we expect this to grow significantly in the coming years," he added.

According to WAM, Abu Dhabi has been investing heavily in the Culture and Creative Industries, with investments spanning the creation of cultural institutions and world-class infrastructures to program and initiatives of international relevance that have supported the growth of creative and culture businesses, professionals and practitioners based in the emirate and beyond.

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Varieties

Saudi Arabia Participates in 65th Session of Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
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Saudi Arabia Participates in 65th Session of Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

Represented by a delegation from the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) and the Saudi Space Agency (SSA), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia participated in the 65th session of the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), held in the United Nations’ office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna, SPA reported.

The meetings addressed regulatory issues aimed at tackling legal challenges associated with space activities. Discussions focused on developing and establishing legal frameworks to explore and utilize space resources, as well as managing and coordinating space traffic. The meetings also examined mechanisms to enhance the long-term sustainability of activities in outer space and to mitigate space debris.

The Saudi delegation provided many contributions to support the development of flexible international regulations that enables a sustainable and safe environment for space innovation, it also highlighted the Kingdom’s efforts in regulating and advancing the space sector.

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was set up by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1958 in Vienna, Austria. The committee was established with 24 state members and has currently grown to include 110 members, making it one of the largest committees of the United Nations; while the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) has acted as the secretariat to the committee.

Varieties

Final Talks Begin on Missing Piece for Pandemic Treaty

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Dec. 20, 2021. (Reuters)
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Dec. 20, 2021. (Reuters)
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Final Talks Begin on Missing Piece for Pandemic Treaty

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Dec. 20, 2021. (Reuters)
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Dec. 20, 2021. (Reuters)

An extra week of negotiations to complete an international agreement on handling future pandemics kicked off in Geneva on Monday, with sharp divisions holding up an accord.

Wealthy countries and developing nations are at loggerheads in the talks at the World Health Organization over how the pandemic treaty, adopted last year, will work in practice.

The agreement's Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system deals with sharing access to pathogens with pandemic potential, then sharing benefits derived from them such as vaccines, tests and treatments.

"The world cannot afford to lose this opportunity and risk being unprepared for the next pandemic," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the start of the talks.

"It will not be perfect; no agreement ever is. But it can be fair; it can be functional," he told negotiators.

In May 2025, WHO members adopted a landmark agreement on tackling future health crises, after more than three years of negotiations sparked by the shock of Covid-19.

The accord aims to prevent a repeat of the disjointed international response that surrounded the coronavirus crisis, by improving global coordination, surveillance and access to vaccines.

PABS, the heart of the treaty, was left out to get the bulk of the deal over the line.

- 'Blame is shared' -

"Developing countries are voicing their mistrust, fearing they will share their viruses without any guarantees of equitable access to vaccines in the event of a crisis," WHO chief scientist Sylvie Briand told AFP.

Other countries are asking whether the pharmaceutical industry has the capacity and motivation to contribute to a pandemic agreement "without a guarantee of return on investment", she said.

Countries have until Friday to negotiate PABS so it can be approved during the World Health Assembly of WHO member states, which opens on May 18.

"Progress has been slow" and finding compromise "will be very hard", though the European Union was now "making an effort to demonstrate some flexibility", said Jean Karydakis, a diplomat at Brazil's mission in Geneva.

The pathogen sharing clauses are considered crucial by developing states, particularly in Africa, where many countries felt cut adrift in the scramble for Covid-19 vaccines.

While NGOs have criticized wealthy nations' obduracy, a western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were also "excessive demands from some developing countries", and thus "the blame is shared" for the deadlock.

- Anonymous access? -

The treaty already says participating pharmaceutical companies should make available 20 percent of their production of vaccines, tests and treatments to the WHO for redistribution -- with at least half as a donation and the rest "at affordable prices".

However, the terms and conditions remain to be defined, as does access to health data and tools outside pandemics.

NGOs and developing countries want to impose mandatory rules for laboratories to ensure poor countries receive vaccines.

"During the Ebola outbreaks, samples from African patients led to treatments developed without such obligations," said Olena Zarytska of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

The result, she said, was limited supplies in Africa and stockpiles in the United States, which under President Donald Trump has withdrawn from the WHO.

Developing countries also want a user registration and tracking system for the PABS database, while developed countries, "basically Germany, Norway and Switzerland, advocate for maintaining anonymous access", said K. M. Gopakumar, senior researcher with the Third World Network.

Anonymous access would make it "impossible" to track who is using pathogen information and whether they are sharing the benefits, 100 non-governmental organizations, including Oxfam, said in a joint letter to the WHO.

"In practice, this means that genetic resources originating in developing countries can be accessed, commercialized, and exploited with complete impunity," the letter said.

Varieties

Steep Mountainside Offers Respite for Daring Afghans

An Afghan boy enjoys rolling down a steep and sandy mountainside on a weekend at the Sayad area of Reg-e-Rawan in Kapisa province on April 24, 2026. (AFP)
An Afghan boy enjoys rolling down a steep and sandy mountainside on a weekend at the Sayad area of Reg-e-Rawan in Kapisa province on April 24, 2026. (AFP)
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Steep Mountainside Offers Respite for Daring Afghans

An Afghan boy enjoys rolling down a steep and sandy mountainside on a weekend at the Sayad area of Reg-e-Rawan in Kapisa province on April 24, 2026. (AFP)
An Afghan boy enjoys rolling down a steep and sandy mountainside on a weekend at the Sayad area of Reg-e-Rawan in Kapisa province on April 24, 2026. (AFP)

Backflipping down a steep and sandy mountainside, Afghan teenager Imran Saeedi wows the crowds of men who gather each springtime to unwind beside breathtaking views.

Hundreds of visitors travel each weekend to Reg-e-Rawan -- "the moving sands" in Dari -- to practice parkour or roll down the honey-colored sand in Kapisa province.

"I feel afraid when I'm going for a flip or a jump, and of course I can get injured," said 16-year-old Saeedi, who nonetheless loves the thrill.

"When the week starts, I'm just waiting for the weekend so I can come to Reg-e-Rawan to have fun again," said the high school student.

Men and boys clapped in admiration as he ran down the hill and flipped forwards, then backwards, while his friends filmed on their phones.

Less daring onlookers sat atop rocks surrounding the mountain, picnicking together and enjoying the scenery.

Reg-e-Rawan is off limits to women and girls, who are banned by the Taliban authorities from recreational spots such as parks.

Families with women were turned away when AFP journalists visited, while officials under the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice patrolled the area.

- 'Humans need nature' -

Mirwais Kamran, a 48-year-old businessman, had driven three hours north from the capital Kabul with some of his 12 children.

"I feel joy when I come here with my children and friends," said Kamran, who climbed up the slope but stopped short of rolling down.

Nusratullah Nusrat, the provincial head of tourism at the Kapisa Department of Information and Culture, said the site dates back thousands of years.

"The unique feature of this place is that the sand never decreases despite people climbing up and sliding down," he told AFP.

Some people believe rolling in the sand also helps treat rheumatism, added Nusrat.

For visitors such as Nohzatullah Ahmadzai, who travelled from Kabul with a group of friends, Reg-e-Rawan lifts his mood.

"I'm someone who gets depressed when I'm sad, so visiting such places erases that feeling," said the 22-year-old, who works for a cargo firm.

Climbing the slope takes about an hour, rewarding visitors with views over green fields dotted with villages.

"We humans need nature," said Ahmadzai. "When we feel stressed, we can visit natural places for relaxation or relief."