UAE Joins Global Alliance on Green Economy

Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chairing the UAE cabinet (WAM)
Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chairing the UAE cabinet (WAM)
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UAE Joins Global Alliance on Green Economy

Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chairing the UAE cabinet (WAM)
Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chairing the UAE cabinet (WAM)

The UAE cabinet approved the country's joining to the Global Alliance on Green Economy, led by the World Green Economy Organization, which aims to launch programs and initiatives, create sustainable funding, and establish partnerships among developing countries to ensure an effective transition.

Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported that joining the Alliance would support the UAE's preparations to host the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 28).

Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chaired the UAE Cabinet meeting at Qasr al-Watan Abu Dhabi.

The Prime Minister said: "We approved the joining of the UAE to the Global Alliance for Green Economy, which aims to consolidate the global transformation towards a more sustainable economy to preserve the environment in preparation for the UAE to host the COP28 next year. We wish Egypt all success in the current session."

The cabinet approved the convening of the UAE Government Annual Meetings on November 22nd in Abu Dhabi.

The meetings will be attended by 500 senior federal and local officials, aiming to review performance during the previous year, and agree on the most critical development projects at the national level for the following year.

Sheikh Mohammed said that the cabinet meeting approved a comprehensive development project for the federal government staff to enhance the readiness for the future by training on the skills required for the coming period.

"In our meeting, we also adopted a new policy to support the local product by changing the customs exemption policy so that the exemption is for imported materials that are included in industries that are not locally available," said the Prime Minister.

He noted that the "goal is to encourage factories to use locally produced materials to support them."

The cabinet adopted a new policy for pricing essential consumer goods in the country under the control and follow-up of the Ministry of Economy in coordination with the relevant local authorities.

The policy aim to ensure control over the commitment of basic commodity providers and sales outlets to pricing per the policy.

The policy included nine basic consumer commodities: cooking oils, eggs, dairy, rice, sugar, poultry, legumes, bread, and wheat.

The cabinet also adopted a decision regarding the establishment and organization of the Owners Association.

The law aim to regulate the establishment of the union, registering and publicizing it, its management, and the meetings of its general assembly.

The council adopted a decision regarding administrative penalties for the provisions of the Federal Law Decree regulating the connection of distributed renewable energy production units to the electrical grid.



North Korea Bars Western Influencers from Trade Fair Tour

North Korea has barred Western influencers from joining tourists to an international trade fair, a China-based tour operator said. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
North Korea has barred Western influencers from joining tourists to an international trade fair, a China-based tour operator said. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
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North Korea Bars Western Influencers from Trade Fair Tour

North Korea has barred Western influencers from joining tourists to an international trade fair, a China-based tour operator said. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
North Korea has barred Western influencers from joining tourists to an international trade fair, a China-based tour operator said. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

North Korea has barred Western influencers from joining a delegation of tourists to an international trade fair in October, a China-based tour operator told AFP on Monday.

Diplomatically isolated North Korea has welcomed sporadic groups of international visitors in recent months, including hundreds of foreign athletes in April for the first Pyongyang International Marathon in six years.

China has historically been the biggest diplomatic, economic and political backer of North Korea, which remains under crippling international sanctions.

Travel agency Young Pioneer Tours (YPT) said on Saturday it would take a group of foreign tourists on a trip to the authoritarian state from October 24 to November 1.

However, the tour would not be open to journalists, travel content creators or influencers, the company said on its website.

YPT co-founder Rowan Beard told AFP the curbs on creators were "a specific request from the North Korean side".

"We anticipate that once the country officially reopens, there may be stricter scrutiny or limitations on influencers and YouTubers joining tours," Beard said.

The company had "no visibility" on when Pyongyang would restart official media delegations, he said.

Several online influencers have shared slickly produced videos from inside North Korea in recent months.

Chad O'Carroll, founder of specialist website NK News, said many influencers tend to have larger audiences than professional journalists, but "they are normally working without editors and tend to gain extra views through sensationalist-style content".

"North Korean authorities likely see few benefits and major risks with allowing social media influencers to visit the country, given what we saw earlier this year," O'Carroll told AFP.

"The result is a community of potential visitors who, in DPRK authorities' minds, are not likely to produce content that is favorable to state interests," he said, using North Korea's official name.

Lavish gifts

The YPT tour, priced at 3,995 euros ($4,704), will depart from the Chinese capital Beijing and take in the Pyongyang Autumn International Trade Fair, North Korea's biggest international business exhibition.

Participants will have a "unique chance" to stroll through more than 450 trade booths exhibiting machinery, information technology, energy, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and household items.

YPT also said the Pyongyang Chamber of Commerce would "hold a VIP presentation for us for an in-depth overview and insights into the (North Korean) economy".

The itinerary also includes major sights in Pyongyang as well as the first Western visit in more than five years to Mount Myohyang, which boasts a museum of lavish gifts presented to former North Korean leaders.

Chinese people used to make up the bulk of foreign tourists and business visitors to the isolated nuclear nation before it sealed its borders during the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, numbers have not rebounded despite Pyongyang's post-pandemic reopening, a trend that some analysts have attributed to Beijing's anger at North Korea's explicit support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.