E-link between four ministries to grant investors visas within 24 hours

March 2, 2017

Riyadh, Mar 2: Four government ministries have agreed to link their systems electronically to facilitate issuing new visas to investors within 24 hours.

E-link

Al-Eqtisadiya newspaper quoted the Foreign Ministry’s head of media Osama Nugali as saying: “The agreement was reached to link the Ministry of Foreign Affairs electronically to the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, and the Ministry of Labor and Social Development by supplying the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s visa system with information and data needed to facilitate and speed up the process for issuing visas.”

He said the agreement also extends to the General Investment Authority to provide the Foreign Ministry with a list of approved establishments to facilitate their requests via the Kingdom’s missions abroad.

Nugali added that based on the agreement, the Kingdom’s missions have been approved to issue business visas to those wishing to come to the Kingdom to explore investment opportunities. He said applications do not need to be accepted from an authority in the Kingdom, and visas can be directly issued from embassies. Upon confirming the status of the application and approving it, visas will be issued within 24 hours from the time of receipt of the passport.

“These facilities also include commercial visits by individuals who hold commercial or business status, both men or women, and heads of foreign companies, regardless of titles. Representatives of companies coming on the basis of an invitation from a company in the Kingdom for a meeting with counterparts are also included,” he said.

The Kingdom’s embassies abroad have also been tasked with monitoring and evaluating the performance of visa service offices in host countries, and approving and ensuring these offices hand over the visa and passport on the same day, or within 24 hours from the time the application is made and documents are received.

Nugali said these developments are in line with Vision 2030 and based on the decision of Prince Mohammed bin Salman — deputy crown prince, second deputy prime minister, defense minister and chairman of the Committee for Economic and Development Affairs — to establish a committee to oversee process improvement in the private sector and incentivize participation in economic development.

The committee, chaired by the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, is responsible for facilitating the process of obtaining business visas through active participation of all concerned sectors and parties.

Al-Eqtisadiya reported in January that the Foreign Ministry adopted a mechanism to facilitate and speed up business and investment visa issuance procedures through electronic systems. This would allow foreign investors to visit the Kingdom and review investment opportunities more easily.

Under the new system, business visas have been classified into three groups: Business visit visas to a company operating in the Kingdom, business visas, and commercial delegation visit visas.

Application of the decision to issue commercial visas to businessmen and commercial delegations began on Jan. 1, 2017, Al-Eqtisadiya reported, while issuance of visas to visit commercial establishments in the Kingdom is set to begin in the coming days.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 24,2020

Abu Dhabi: A senior Hindi teacher at Sunrise School in Abu Dhabi has died of coronavirus, it has been confirmed. Anil Kumar, 50, passed away on Sunday morning, May 24.

The sad and shocking demise of Mr Kumar, a senior Hindi teacher of Sunrise School on May 24, has left the entire Sunrise family in a pall of gloom, read a statement.

“The management, administrators, other faculty members, students and the school as a whole is struck with intense sorrow and is speechless.

“The bond that he had developed over the years, just as how we have with each faculty, makes the loss unbearable. The entire SEPS family is shaken and finds it hard to come to terms with this most saddening news.

“Anil Kumar was a very inspiring teacher. He always brought a creative aspect to the classes he handled and would make it an enjoyable class to attend to. Mr. Anil Kumar had a great way of motivating his students to do their best, and pushed them to be the best they could be. He was a great strength and support to the Department of Hindi, always willing to scaffold and mentor students and teachers. He was a very approachable man, warm and friendly at heart and that is something I will truly miss about Mr. Anil.

“Mr Anil Kumar has left behind his wife and two children. Mrs. Rajini, his wife is also a member of the school family. She is a faculty of the maths department. Our prayers and sincere condolences to each and every one of the family. May God give the strength to endure and face this most challenging phase of their life.”

It is learnt Mr Kumar fell ill with COVID-19 and had been in hospital since May 7.

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News Network
May 4,2020

Dubai, May 4: An Indian salesman in the UAE has won a whopping 10 million dirhams at an Abu Dhabi draw, a media report said.

Dileep Kumar Ellikkottil Parameswaran, from Kerala’s Thrissur, works with an auto spare parts company in Ajman and earns 5,000 dirhams (USD 1,361) a month, Gulf News reported on Sunday.

Parameswaran, who won the 10 million dirhams (USD 2.7 million) prize at the Big Ticket draw in Abu Dhabi, will spend a big part of the money to repay a loan of 700,000 dirhams (USD 190,574 ), according to the report.

He said that a good part of the prize money will be spent on the education of his two children.

Parameswaran, who has been a resident of the UAE for 17 years, lives in Ajman along with his family.

Big Ticket is the largest and longest-running monthly raffle draw for cash prizes and dream luxury cars in Abu Dhabi.

A live monthly draw is organized at the Abu Dhabi International Airport on 3rd of each month.

Tickets are sold for 500 dirhams (USD 136).

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Arab News
March 9,2020

Dubai, Mar 9: The eyes of the world will be on the oil markets when the big trading hubs in Europe and North America open following the end of the deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has helped to sustain crude at relatively high levels for the past three years.

There were big falls on Friday when ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to get a deal with non-OPEC members — the so-called OPEC+ — to extend output agreements. Brent oil was down nearly 10 percent at $45.27 going into the western weekend.

Saudi Aramco took immediate action to cut prices after the OPEC+ collapse, offering big discounts for crude deliveries from next month, when the current output restrictions end.

According to a notification sent to customers by Saudi Aramco, seen by Arab News, the Kingdom’s oil giant will cut between $4 and $8 per barrel, with the biggest discounts being offered to buyers in northwest Europe and the US.

Roger Diwan, an oil analyst at consultancy IHS Market, said: “We are likely to see the lowest oil prices of the past 20 years in the next quarter.”

West Texas Intermediate, the US oil benchmark, fell to $28.27 in November 2001.

The move raises the possibility of a “crude war” between the three biggest oil blocs — the US, Russia and the Arabian Gulf. Some analysts believe the American shale industry is more vulnerable to low prices than either the Russians or the Saudis.

Robin Mills, head of the Qamar consultancy, told Arab News: “I don’t think this was premeditated but Saudi Arabia has clearly swung quickly into action to put the Russians under pressure. But the Russians, with low debt and a flexible exchange rate, can cope with a few months of low prices.”

The boom in US shale has made the country the biggest oil producer in the world, but with high financing costs. Lower global prices would put a lot of shale companies out of business.

On the other hand, American motorists, and President Donald Trump, would be pleased to see lower fuel prices in an election year.

In Moscow, one prominent financier with ties to the Kingdom played down the long-term significance of the Vienna fallout.

Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, told Arab News: “Saudi Arabia is our strategic partner, and cooperation between our two countries will continue in all areas. We will also continue to work within the framework of the Russia-Saudi Economic Council.”

One Russian official, who asked not to be named, added: “There is a good relationship between Alexander Novak, Russian energy minister, and his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, and I am sure they will continue talking to each other less formally.”

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