Illustration by Joaquín Kunkel
UAE Updates
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Feb 23, 2019
UAE Tour road closures to affect Saadiyat, Yas and Corniche
A series of road closures will affect Abu Dhabi on Feb. 25 for the UAE Tour cycling race. The seven-day race will take place from Feb. 24 to Mar. 2. This year’s inaugural UAE Tour was born from a merger of the Abu Dhabi Tour and Dubai Tour and will total 1,090 km through both flat and mountainous terrain. All 18 UCI WorldTeams, the highest category in professional cycling, will be participating.
The Yas section of Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed highway will be closed from 2:50 to 4:10 p.m. The Saadiyat section will follow it, closing from 3:15 to 4:25 p.m. Finally, Corniche road will close from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m.
UAE to miss clean energy targets
The UAE will miss its target of 27 percent clean energy production by 2021 due to delays at the Barakah nuclear power plant. The plant was projected to produce 25 percent of the UAE’s energy requirements, with an additional 2 percent from solar power.
His Excellency Suheil Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry told the Federal National Council that low energy prices in the UAE were a deterrent to solar power investment. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, up to 60 percent of Abu Dhabi’s energy is used for cooling during the summer.
EU offers reopening free trade negotiations with GCC
Free trade negotiations between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the EU collapsed after 2010, but with Brexit looming both the EU and U.K. are seeking to widen their trade relations.
Phil Hogan, the EU's agriculture commissioner, met with Sultan Al Mansoori, the Minister of Economy, Mariam Al Mehairi, Minister for Food Security and Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister for Climate Change and Environment during a short visit to the UAE. He said that the EU is open to a free trade deal with the GCC, but that negotiations should start soon.
The visit comes at the heels of British outreach for stronger trade ties with the UAE. Dr. Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade, during his visit to the World Government Summit, said, “There is a world beyond Europe and a time beyond Brexit and the UAE presents an exciting opportunity for U.K. trade and investment.”
Khaled Alhosani is News Editor. Email him at feedback@thegazelle.org.
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