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2008-2010 UAE – Federal archive
2006-2007 UAE – Federal archive
2005 UAE – Federal archive
2004 UAE – Federal archive
2003 and earlier UAE – Federal archives
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| 2005 Archive – UAE – Federal |
Khalifa’s first big initiative: an electoral college to select the FNC
UAE President and Abu Dhabi Ruler Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan has signalled his readiness to face up to the challenges of political development with the 2 December announcement of plans for an electoral college of up to 2,000 notables that will select half the members of the 40-member Federal National Council (FNC). The other members of the country’s ‘parliament’ will be nominated by the UAE’s seven rulers. This is the first major political development initiative taken by Sheikh Khalifa since he succeeded his late father Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahayan in November 2004. This week’s direct election of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) may be a pointer to his longer term intentions.
Issue 771, 9 December 2005. more
State control on the UAE’s economy loosened, but Abu Dhabi won’t let go
The UAE basks in international acclaim as an ‘open’ economy, underlined by the fanfare ringing out for Abu Dhabi’s new property law, but analysis of ownership and business practises in the emirates shows that some sectors are much more open than others.
Issue 763/764, 2 September 2005. more
U-2 crash highlighted US/UAE intelligence ties
Unwelcome attention was drawn to the US forces’ presence in the UAE when a U-2 crashed at Al-Dhafra air base. The Emirates are keen to play down their US connection which is going full steam ahead with interoperability.
Issue 761, 15 July 2005. more
Riyadh diplomatic as UAE grievance resurfaces
Emirati dissatisfaction over the 1970s delineation of the UAE-Saudi frontier through the Shaybah oilfield has reared its profile for the second time since the November 2004 accession to the presidency of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan – who is determined to resuscitate an issue that had seemed forgotten in the sands of time.
A revision of development terms for the Shaybah oil field, which straddles the border, could be central to the new deal which may be taking shape.
Issue 760, 24 June 2005. more
Six months after Zayed, the UAE’s new President keeps low profile
Federal President and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan has kept a notably low profile in the six months since the death of the UAE’s revered Founding President, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahayan. According to GSN’s soundings within the UAE and in the wider region, questions are quietly being asked about whether this low profile reflects no more than a change of style, or whether more significant political issues are at play.
Issue 758, 27 May 2005. more
MBZ and friends enjoy order-filled IDEX
The UAE Armed Forces concluded $358m worth of new military procurement at the five-day International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2005) in Abu Dhabi. IDEX was opened by Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan. Also in attendance were Jordan's King Abdallah II and Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. US Rear Admiral Mike Tracy, commander of the carrier USS Harry Truman group, was also in attendance.
Issue 753, 11 March 2005. more
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| 2004 Archive – UAE – Federal |
Khalifa consolidates alliances for the post-Zayed era
With the death of Sheikh Zayed, the Gulf has lost its most revered leader, a historic figure who carefully shaped the future of UAE politics by lining up an orderly succession with Sheikh Khalifa already named as federal President and Abu Dhabi ruler, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed’s position formalised as a powerful Crown Prince. Amid a 40-day period of official mourning for its founding President and Abu Dhabi’s Ruler Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahayan, the United Arab Emirates is entering a new and unfamiliar era. After more than three decades at the helm, ‘Baba Zayed’ incarnated the UAE’s singular combination of modernisation and tradition; his person commanded great respect abroad and genuine popular love at home.
Issue 745, 12 November 2004. 
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Al-Nahayans reshuffle the deck, shaping the UAE’s succession
Sheikh Khalifa is president and Abu Dhabi ruler, and Mohammed Bin Zayed is expected to be a very hands-on crown prince. The government list published the day before Sheikh Zayed’s death was announced gives several pointers to the UAE’s political direction in the next few years.
Issue 745, 12 November 2004. more
Zayed ‘very ill’, unofficial sources
Officially nothing is wrong, but sources in the region on 13 October told GSN that there had been a “serious deterioration” in the health of the UAE’s venerated President and Abu Dhabi Ruler Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahayan. Concerns about Sheikh Zayed’s health were said to be one reason why next December’s Gulf Co-operation Council summit has been moved to Bahrain.
Issue 743, 15 October 2004. Full story
GCC summit moves to Manama as UAE looks closer to home
During a period of transition in its domestic politics, the UAE has handed over organisation of the annual GCC summit to Bahrain. GSN examines the summit build up in Manama, Abu Dhabi and the wider region.
Issue 742, 1 October 2004. more
Education debate flares as the UAE races to develop human capital
Can a funding crisis really have gripped the UAE’s education sector? It would be surprising for a nation of such wealth, but perhaps even more surprisingly, the debate over education is spilling into the public domain, resulting in a very rare commodity indeed – public political controversy in the Emirates. Aside from providing some fizz for the UAE’s usually flat media coverage of national politics, this is a serious subject, on which the very long-term stability of the Federation may depend as the Emirates’ planners (and not just Dubai) consider their options post-oil.
|ssue 741, 17 September 2004. more
Hackles up in Tehran, despite cooling of GCC rows
Iran has patched up its latest squabble with the UAE – with which it disputes sovereignty over Abu Musa and the Tunbs islands – but in the Islamic Republic attitudes towards the West remain prickly because of the nuclear issue.
Issue 740, 27 August 2004. more
Al-Taweelah refinancing nears finishing line
A landmark $133.75m bond issue is set to complete the $538m refinancing of CMS Energy’s Al-Taweelah A2 independent water and power project (IWPP), which initially achieved financial close in April 1999.
Issue 739, 23 July 2004. more
Move out of dollars, tax reforms
Central Bank of the UAE has begun to diversify its reserves away from their traditional heavy reliance on the US dollar, governor Sultan Bin Nasser Al-Suwaidi has announced. The bank now holds some euros, and may buy more, together with some other currencies.
Issue 736, 11 June 2004. more
The UAE moves beyond the ‘Bin Laden connection’
US relations with the UAE, and the Emirates’ past ties with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are coming under scrutiny, helping to forge an unusual new relationship.
Issue 731, 2 April 2004. more
UAE moves to stay on top of future military challenges
With the UAE fast becoming a dominating military force in the Gulf, the defence dynamics that have prevailed for years may be heading for a shift.
Issue 728, 20 February 2004. more
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| 2003 and Earlier Archives – UAE – Federal |
With MBZ’s promotion, Sheikha Fatima sons take centre stage
By promoting his favourite wife’s sons, Sheikh Zayed has moved to clarify the long-term succession line in Abu Dhabi, in the process shaping the future direction of UAE politics.
Issue 724, 12 November 2003. more
Abu Dhabi and Dubai’s paths diverge over real estate development
Dubai’s real estate boom demands that property rights are enshrined in federal law, while in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed and others remain opposed to foreign ownership. These differences pose big questions for federal legislators – so big, the decision is likely to be stalled.
Issue 723, 28 November 2003. more
Despite quotas, UAE sends all hands to the pump
Even after the Q4 03 OPEC quota reduction to 2.138m b/d, UAE crude production this year should still exceed the 2002 level, and Abu Dhabi is looking to push up long-term production capacity. Production averaged 2.3m b/d in January-September 2003, a rise of around 300,000 b/d year-on-year. The increase is largely explained by the UAE’s filling in for missing Iraqi barrels since March. The UAE has long acted as a swing producer within OPEC, with the flexibility to ramp up capacity at its onshore fields at short notice.
Issue 720, 17 October 2003. more
UAE moves toward greater transparency, helped by the IMF
In the wake of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Dubai, several recent moves by the United Arab Emirates indicate a shift toward greater financial transparency and accountability – at least for the time being.
Issue 719, 3 October 2003. more
Ahead of autumn meetings, IMF delivers data lesson
A generally favourable macro-economic performance was undermined by a marked deterioration in the fiscal position since 2001, according to the first-ever Article IV assessment on the UAE to be published by the International Monetary Fund.
Issue 706, 21 March 2003. more
The UAE’s techno Sheikhs talk tough and act on ICT business
ABU DHABI/DUBAI – Open criticism of government policy – even if you are head of the department responsible for it – is rare in the Gulf, but it is not out of bounds for members of the next generation of UAE ruling families, some of whom are prepared to challenge policies and traditional practices forged at home and in other Arab states. “The government should not enforce censorship on the individual,” Information and Culture Minister Sheikh Abdallah Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan told participants at a pan-Arab ministerial level meeting in October.
Issue 701, 10 January 2003. more
Palestine, not Iraq, heads Abu Dhabi’s policy priorities
While international attention has turned towards the Upper Gulf, the UAE leadership in Abu Dhabi has sought to maintain a strong focus on the Palestinian issue. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahayan feels deeply about this personally, but the Palestine focus also accords with the UAE President and Abu Dhabi Ruler’s determination to maintain the Emirates’ independent diplomatic stance, counter-balancing military and economic co-operation with the West.
Issue 698, 21 November 2002. more
Sophisticated UAE increases involvement in foreign defence sectors
The UAE has been showing increasing interest in direct investment in foreign defence industries. This trend reveals an increasingly assertive and sophisticated approach to procurement policy.
Recent speculation has revolved around a possible major investment by the Emirates in the Russian air defence industry, as part of a mooted $4 billion purchase of Antey surface-to-air missiles and air defence sensors.
Issue 696, 23 October 2002. more
UAE’s Asian job-hunters live with the wages of exploitation
ABU DHABI—Expatriates, mainly labourers from South Asia, form about 80 per cent of UAE’s 3.48 million population, according to the 2001 census. This demographic huge imbalance has triggered stricter rules to prevent the entry of more foreign labourers, but despite of these restrictions—which include a ban on the recruitment and entry of unskilled workers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh—job hunters continue to flow in through the good offices of unscrupulous employment agents and visa traders, some of whom boast shareholders in high places.
Issue 691, 24 July 2002. more
Emirates crack down on criminality
Governments are lining up to sign extradition treaties with the U.A.E. to prevent criminals from taking advantage of a liberal business environment that has made the Emirates such a powerful and thriving commercial centre. A high-profile extradition from Dubai to India has underlined the Emirates’ crackdown on criminality, and in the new mood following the 11 September attacks on the U.S.A., Russia could be among those next in line to sign an accord, to help curb mafia activity.
Issue 687, 29 May 2002. more
Emirates come to grips with informal economies
As the fight against money laundering and terrorist finance moves on from rule-making to implementation, the UAE Central Bank is preparing to host a conference in May on the hawala money transfer systems that are widely used in the Gulf. Western investigators suspect that money may have been channelled to militant groups such as Al-Qaeda through hawala networks, and that some hawala operators with radical sympathies have diverted a share of their own margin income to the cause.
Issue 683, 3 April 2002. more
UAE naval order raises stakes over disputed islands
The UAE Navy has placed an order worth more than Dh100 million for the construction of 12 amphibious transport vessels from Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) under the so-called Ghannatha project. The vessels are designed to transport large numbers of troops rapidly—indicating that the UAE wants to turn up the heat on Iran over the two countries’ disputed claims to three strategically-located islands in the Gulf.
Issue 679, 6 February 2002. more
Reform ideas gain pace among UAE opinion-makers
The appointment of women to the Federal National Council (FNC) next year appears increasingly probable as prominent Emiratis press the case for political modernisation with ever more boldness. While direct elections to the FNC still appear to be some way off, there is a growing expectation of substantial changes to the Council’s composition and powers when the regular triennial renewal of its membership falls due in 2002.
Issue 676, 12 December 2001. more
Crisis speeds shift to new business environment
“Business as usual” is the tone set by the authorities as the U.A.E. comes to terms with the changed post-11 September world. But despite a general ambience of normality amidst the usual pre-Ramadan flurry of government meetings in Abu Dhabi and trade shows in Dubai, leaders are well aware of the extent to wh
Issue 674, 14 November 2001. more
Taliban’s early appeal wanes for Gulf governments
Afghanistan’s Taliban have had little success in gaining international recognition for the regime of Mullah Mohammed Omar. Pakistan, whose government and intelligence services assisted the rise of the Taliban, is one, as might be expected; the other two are Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The latter, with a big Afghan expatriate community (more), is showing signs of distancing itself from the decision.
Issue 666, 23 July 2001. more
UAE clamps down on sanctions-busting oil smugglers
Signs are that the UAE authorities are really getting serious about tackling the smuggling of Iraqi oil in breach of sanctions. They are insisting that ships seized by the United Nations anti-smuggling patrol, and then auctioned off, must be sent for scrap. Having earlier introduced a law providing for the forced sale of impounded vessels—which cynics have long thought quickly find their way back into circulation—the government now wants to ensure the boats are not simply recycled back into the smuggling business.
Issue 663, 11 June 2001. more
UAE’s smallest members seek niche roles within the Federation
A sign at the entrance to Umm Al-Quwain town, acknowledging the financial help provided by Abu Dhabi in building a road, sums up the dilemmas facing the UAE’s small Northern Emirates. Independence of identity is not supported by the economic resources to match. Despite their considerable success in developing a broad base of new industries, the small states have practically no oil. Reliance on Federal programmes and subsidies from the Federal Government and Abu Dhabi is unavoidable.
Issue 659, 16 April 2001. more
Sheikh Zayed returns to a testing agenda
Ruler of Abu Dhabi and UAE. President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahayan has returned home from hospital treatment in the USA to a crowded and discouraging international agenda. Like other Western allies, his government has felt impelled by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to distance itself from Washington’s tough stance towards Iraq, and it has also become embroiled in a fresh verbal dust-up with Iran over the disputed islands of Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunbs.
Issue 651,18 December 2000. more
UAE police confront a changing world of crime
Financial abuses and the potential for growth of organised crime top the list of challenges confronting law enforcement officials in the UAE Senior police officers canvassed by GSN focused on the growing pressures from abroad as the Emirates open up to the global economy—not least from Russian gangs, whose activities have been widely commented on but about whose activities little concrete information has emerged.
Issue 650, 4 December 2000. more
2008-2010 UAE – Federal archive
2006-2007 UAE – Federal archive
2005 UAE – Federal archive
2004 UAE – Federal archive
2003 and earlier UAE – Federal archives
Return to main GSN's World UAE page
Select another country
