UAE: 50 Projects to Increase Growth, Double Foreign Investments

New projects in the UAE for 50 years involving various government and private institutions (WAM)
New projects in the UAE for 50 years involving various government and private institutions (WAM)
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UAE: 50 Projects to Increase Growth, Double Foreign Investments

New projects in the UAE for 50 years involving various government and private institutions (WAM)
New projects in the UAE for 50 years involving various government and private institutions (WAM)

The UAE will launch 50 new national projects this month to support the country’s development journey, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that the UAE will start the new phase of government work this year in a different way.

Sheikh Mohamed said: “After consulting with my brother Mohammed bin Zayed, we will announce 50 national projects during September. The UAE does not have the luxury of time and will not wait for global conditions to create its future. The UAE makes its future by itself. September 5 will be the beginning.”

For his part, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan called on the UAE people to take part in these projects by harnessing their knowledge, creativity, and resourcefulness to seize the opportunities of the future.”

"The new projects aim to advance the UAE’s economy, a top national priority, to ensure a decent life for citizens and residents, double the Foreign Direct Investment and boost the UAE’s status as an incubator for talents and investors from all over the world.

They aim to transform the UAE into a comprehensive hub in all sectors and areas of creativity and innovation, positioning the UAE as a land of opportunities and a destination for those seeking a global testbed of bold and successful ideas.



Eight OPEC+ Alliance Members Move toward Output Hike at Meeting

FILE PHOTO: OPEC logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OPEC logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
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Eight OPEC+ Alliance Members Move toward Output Hike at Meeting

FILE PHOTO: OPEC logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OPEC logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other key members of the OPEC+ alliance will discuss crude production on Saturday, with analysts expecting the latest in a series of output hikes for August.

The wider OPEC+ group -- comprising the 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies -- began output cuts in 2022 in a bid to prop up prices.

But in a policy shift, eight alliance members surprised markets by announcing they would significantly raise production from May, sending oil prices plummeting.

Oil prices have been hovering around a low $65-$70 per barrel.

Representatives of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman will take part in Saturday's meeting, expected to be held by video.

Analysts expect the so-called "Voluntary Eight" (V8) nations to decide on another output increase of 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) -- the same target approved for May, June and July.

The group has placed an "increased focus on regaining market shares over price stability," said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.

Enforcing quotas

The group will likely justify its decision by officially referring to "low inventories and solid demand as reasons for the faster unwind of the production cuts", UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo told AFP.

But the failure of some OPEC member countries, such as Kazakhstan, to stick to their output quotas, is "a factor supporting the decision", he added.

According to Jorge Leon, an analyst at Rystad Energy, an output hike of 411,000 bpd will translate into "around 250,000 or 300,000" actual barrels.

An estimate by Bloomberg showed that the alliance's production increased by only 200,000 bpd in May, despite doubling the quotas.

No effect from Israel-Iran war

Analysts expect no major effect on current oil prices, as another output hike is widely anticipated.

The meeting comes after a 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, which briefly sent prices above $80 a barrel amid concerns over a possible closing of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about one-fifth of the world's oil supply.

As fears of a wider Middle East conflict have eased, and given there "were no supply disruptions so far", the war is "unlikely to impact the decision" of the alliance, Staunovo added.

The Israel-Iran conflict "if anything supports a continued rapid production increase in the unlikely event Iran's ability to produce and export get disrupted," Hansen told AFP.