MPs meet Mohammed
In mid-March, a party of Members of
Parliament from the UK-UAE All-Party
Parliamentary Group paid a short
visit to Abu Dhabi at the invitation
of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed
bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince
of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme
Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Led by the Group's Chairman, Kevan
Jones, MP, the party consisted of three
Labour and four Conservative MPs.
During the visit, they had a
lengthy discussion with H.H. Sheikh
Mohammed and with some of Abu
Dhabi's other leading officials,
including H.E. Sheikh Sultan bin
Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of the
Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, ADTA,
and the Abu Dhabi Authority for
Culture and Heritage, ADACH, and
H.E. Khaldoun Mubarak, Chairman
of the Executive Affairs Authority, on
prospects for the further development
of relations between Britain and the
UAE, in particular Abu Dhabi.
A reception held in their honour
was attended by the Minister of Higher
Education and Scientific Research,
H.E. Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al
Nahyan, and by many Group members.
During their visit, the group were also
briefed on Abu Dhabi's development by
the chief operating officers of Mubadala
and Aldar and paid a visit to the
Shuweihat power station.
Jersey Finance visit
A delegation from Jersey Finance,
the government/private sector body
responsible for promoting and
representing Jersey's finance industry,
visited the UAE in early March, the fifth
such visit in the last five and a half years,
although this time, owing to illness, it was
not led by a Jersey Minister.
Besides meetings with key officials in Abu
Dhabi's banking community, the delegation
also met in Abu Dhabi with the Governor
of the UAE Central Bank, H.E. Sultan
Nasser Al Suweidi, to discuss the further
development of co-operation between
Jersey and the UAE in banking and finance.
The largest foreign bank in the UAE, HSBC
Middle East, is, of course, headquartered in
Jersey, while several Jersey trust firms have
now established UAE offices.
Injazat sign deal with Municipalities Department
Injazat Data Systems, the Abu Dhabibased
joint venture between Mubadala
and Electronic Data Systems, EDS,
has signed a 10 year contract with
the Department of Municipalities and
Agriculture under which Injazat will provide
IT-managed services and assume full
responsibility for the Municipality's IT
services and operations.
Department Chairman H.E. Dr. Juaan
Salem Al Dhahiri commented that "The
Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities
and Agriculture
is keen on
leveraging
the private
sector's
experience
to develop its
operations
and enhance
its services
delivered to
the public. The
Department
has made
rapid strides
of progress
towards
its goal of
implementing a total e-government framework that
started to emerge in several sectors
within the Department of Municipalities
and Agriculture achieving greater
efficiency and productivity and relieving
the Department from routine overheads."
"As a major public Department, it is
important that we support and accelerate
the development and unprecedented
economic growth taking place in Abu
Dhabi, by providing prompt and efficient
services" The contract, he said, "will help us
provide speedy and improved government
services to the public and further reinforce
Abu Dhabi's development and progress."
Costain win ADMA-OPCO contract
Costain Abu Dhabi have been awarded
a contract worth over US $ 51 million
to replace the 14 km. underground
pipe network in the STOREX tankage
area on Das Island. The project
involves replacement of pipework for 50
operational sub-systems, and is expected
to take four years to complete.
Bob Worton, GM of Costain Abu Dhabi,
welcomed the announcement of the
award earlier this year by commenting
"The strength and synergy of ADMAOPCO
and Costain working together will
provide us with longer term opportunity to
demonstrate our unique high quality and
proven solution to their business needs."
Premier Oil strike Abu Dhabi deal
Another British oil and gas company is to
establish itself in Abu Dhabi, following a
deal signed at the beginning of February.
The company, Premier Oil, signed
a Memorandum of Understanding with
Al Ain-based Emirates International
Investment Company, EIIC, to establish
a joint venture company, based in Abu
Dhabi, to explore for, develop and
produce oil and gas in the Middle East
and North Africa region. Premier already
operates in Pakistan, but has no current
interests in the Gulf area.
Company officials later described the
deal as being an important part of their
strategy for further development in the
region. A number of potential deals are
already being examined.
Late last year, Premier received an
unsuccessful take-over approach from
a UAE institution, reported to be Dubai
Energy, though talks were eventually
broken off.
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