Hundreds of influential thinkers from around the world have gathered in Dubai to participate in the World Economic Forum's Summit on the Global Agenda. Participants of the three-day event will look at ways that international institutions like the G20, World Bank and United Nations can improve. Their findings will form the basis of next year's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
From global investment to global warming, experts from a wide range of fields are meeting in Dubai to discuss three fundamental principles: strengthening economies, enhancing security and ensuring sustainability.
It's the second time the event has been held in the city and World Economic Forum Managing Director, Andre Schneider believes this year's summit will be more productive than last year's.
"This endeavor is even more important this year given that when we met for the first time last year, we were in the middle of the [financial] crisis and I think it was very difficult for many of the participants to get the distance to understand what actions to take or what could be done," he said.
Organizers say the summit comes at a time when much of the world feels let down by those in charge.
And they say the financial crisis has only highlighted the structural weaknesses of global institutions.
World Economic Forum Senior Advisor Lord Malloch-Brown believes the current sentiment will help breed change.
"Crisis creates malleability, a moment of opportunity to introduce new ideas and to bring changes in the global system," he said. "So I think this meeting in Dubai takes place in the aftermath of a very difficult year, but provides, because of that, an opportunity to really introduce or start to form some really interesting proposals, which will have a much more positive reception among global leaders and others than would be the case in more normal times. "
Leaders at the summit include three Nobel Laureates and hundreds of public figures drawn from civil society, including NGOs, think tanks and international organizations.
They have each been placed in to one of 75 councils dedicated to a specific issue, including food security, trade and even faith.
Over the course of the summit, each council will define its own priorities, then members from different groups will meet to find points of common interest.
By the end of the summit, all the suggestions will be used to formulate a final recommendation that will form the basis of discussions at World Economic Forum Davos in January.


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Image via Wikipedia, F-15E Strike Eagle

The biennial Dubai Air Show is underway, with the global economy dampening expectations among those selling civilian planes. But regional tensions have led to some optimism among manufacturers of military aircraft. Nearly 900 companies from about 50 countries have gathered in Dubai for the five-day show. Heavily-decorated military types from Western countries mingled with Arab sheikhs, while aircraft roared overhead.
Orders for commercial airplanes are expected to be lower this year, as airlines cope with an expected $11 billion loss this year.
America's Boeing executives in Dubai put on a brave face, saying that fulfilling back orders will keep their production lines busy.
Europe's Airbus is faring better, and expects to end the show with carriers from Dubai and Ethiopia placing some much-needed orders. But increasingly this year, eyes seem focused on the show's military component.
A U.S. Air Force spokesman described the maneuvers of pilots aboard its F-15e Strike Eagle.
"When flying low in combat, speed is life. Now, from the left, Captain Smith and Captain Cox return to show center at 300 feet and nearly the speed of sound," he said. "This capability allows the Strike Eagle to fly undetected, deep into enemy territory and deliver its ordinance."
The exhibition, put on every two years in the United Arab Emirates, attracts regional buyers who have immediate and potential problems.
"The problem is that the political situation in the region is still tense," said Louis Hobeika, a professor at Lebanon's Notre Dame University. "Of course, you have the Palestinian-Israeli situation, plus the Saudi-Yemen problem, plus all kinds of bilateral issues, wars or bilateral conflicts, let us say, which could really lead into war in the future."
The military aspect of the show has been steadily growing, and this year is expected to make up about 40 percent of the orders.
In sharp contrast to the military aspects of the show, some exhibitors appeared to revel in the pure joy of flight. The Italian display included tight formations of jets with contrails in the red, white and green of the nation's flag, the smoke forming hearts, crosses, spirals and more.
"You know, Italy is famous for many things, but one of them is the wine," he said. "Try to see if you can recognize now a glass of good Italian wine. Look at them!"
As a military threat, the sight of enemy fighters taking the shape of a wine glass may not be much, but in showcasing style and finesse, the Italians delivered.



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Image via Wikipedia, City of Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI, UAE, November 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Outside banking and economics, regulators rarely hit the headlines but the rapid expansion of the built environment in burgeoning Abu Dhabi has put the men and women who ensure the safety of those who live and work in the emirate under unusually intense scrutiny.
Earlier this year, Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and service agreement with the International Code Council (ICC), the world's leading building code authority and developers of the International Codes to establish the framework for adoption of the International Building Code (IBC), which will take effect by 2010 and the development of the Abu Dhabi International Building Code, the new localised set of standards which will guide the development of Building construction projects in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The rigorous new codes in urban and industrial building , will be enforced by tough and inquisitive regulators, with hundreds of delegates from both private and public sector being despatched to training courses on every aspect of construction from seismic protection to fire control.
The new rules, the Abu Dhabi Building Codes, conform to the most demanding global standards and have been developed in tandem with the International Code Council (ICC), responsible for advising US regulators on their exacting regime.
The challenge is significant not least because of the extraordinary speed of construction growth across Abu Dhabi (construction industry contributed 4.7 per cent to 2008 GDP*) but because of its demanding climate, seismological features and the wide range of industrial activity powering the Emirate's economic expansion.
The regulatory environment needs to be all encompassing but sufficiently clear and practical that developers can act rigorously without slowing Abu Dhabi's infrastructure drive.
"Abu Dhabi has stated clear ambitions not only in providing the best environment in which to live and work but to delivering the services which support that ambition. Top five governments supply this kind of legislative and regulatory framework and that is where we want to be," says His Excellency Rashid Mubarak Al Hajeri, Chairman of DMA and Chairman of the Building Codes Higher Council.
"However, more important than this is the safety and welfare of people in our emirate. On that there is no room to compromise and government and private sector have come together to enhance confidence in our built environment." added His Excellency Al Hajeri.
The International Building Code also takes in energy efficiency and property maintenance in a region where climate soon takes its toll on building fabric. Training and legislation to support the code continues in Abu Dhabi in consultation with the ICC.
The Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA) commenced operations in May 2007, following the Abu Dhabi Executive Council's decision to integrate the Emirate's municipal system. As a new government entity, the Department of Municipal Affairs was created to lead, coordinate and oversee three municipalities in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region. The DMA has a regulatory role while the service delivery and operations are at the municipality level.

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Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki denies his country is aiding rebel groups in Yemen. Reports of fighting along the Yemen-Saudi border continue, with conflicting accounts of who is attacking whom.
Iran Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Yemen must mend its relations with Yemeni Shi'ites, a minority to which the Houthi rebels belong.
At a news conference in Tehran, Mottaki addressed Yemeni accusations Shi'ite Iran is supporting the Houthis, who have faced an all-out government assault since August.
In addition to denying the charge, the foreign minister countered with a warning to others bordering Yemen not to meddle in the country's internal affairs.
Fighting in northern Yemen between government troops and the Houthis, who accuse the government of oppression, has spilled over the border into Sunni Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan confirmed reports the Houthis had crossed into Saudi territory.
The prince said every bit of Saudi territory has been cleansed of the invaders. The government had accused the rebels of digging tunnels and trenches along the border to infiltrate the kingdom. But it rejected Houthi claims of capturing Saudi soldiers and military equipment.
The prince also confirmed that Saudi forces have been bombing Houthi positions, saying the military would not stop airstrikes until the rebels retreat tens of kilometers inside their border.
Access to the rugged mountains along the border has been severely limited, and wildly conflicting media coverage by regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran have only added to the confusion about what is happening.
The World Food Program said this week it has reached nearly 100,000 displaced Yemenis with food assistance since August. It says it is monitoring whether more people are fleeing the border area, and whether recent fighting will affect its supply routes through Saudi Arabia.


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The government of Saudi Arabia on Thursday removed an 11-year ban on livestock imports from Somalia after fears of Rift Valley Fever were allayed.

The decision was well received across Somalia as hundreds of thousands of farmers heavily rely on animal exports to the oil-rich Middle East. Under the new arrangement, Saudi officials will closely examine animals before they are shipped off to Saudi soil.

"This is a tremendous decision for Somalis across the Horn of Africa," said Idiris Ibrahim Abdi, the livestock minister of Somaliland, the self-declared republic in northern Somalia, which has developed one of the most sophisticated animal processing plants in its port town of Berbera.

According to news accounts, the Saudi agricultural ministry said the decision is based on years of cross examination and monitoring of animal farms in Somalia.

Animal trade is one of the few surviving economic engines of Somalia''s largely destroyed economy. Business leaders and animal farmers have welcomed the Saudi decision with widespread jubilation.

"This decision will allow me to triple my animal sales to shipping companies," said Mohamed Hassan Kahde, an animal farmer in the central town of Beledweyn. He said the ban was not only bad for business, but it was also bad for the animals.

Officials with the Puntland Meat Processing Authority expect to export more than half a million heads of goats and cows to Saudi Arabia in time for the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage, which will be performed by early December.

Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry says its forces have regained control of a mountain on the border with Yemen.
Assistant Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan told the Saudi Press Agency Sunday that the situation is calm at Mount Dokhan, after Saudi forces bombarded Shi'ite rebels based in Yemen for a fifth consecutive day.
He said three Saudi soldiers were killed and four others are missing after days of fighting on the country's southeastern border.
The Saudi government says it is attacking rebels who have infiltrated its territory, but residents along the border say the military action has reached into northern Yemen.
Meanwhile, Yemen has reported that one of its fighter planes went down in a rebel stronghold in the country's north. The government says the plane crashed due to "mechanical problems," while rebels say they shot down the aircraft.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh made no mention of Saudi Arabia when he addressed the fighting Saturday.
In a speech inaugurating Yemen's first gas plant, he called the Zaidi rebels "traitors" and said the battle against them would not stop until they are wiped out.
The Shi'ite Zaidi rebels have been in conflict with Yemen's government for five years, but the fighting has flared significantly in the past few months.
The rebels, also known as al-Houthis, say the central government is not taking care of their communities' needs.


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