Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Ministry allowed all residents in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states to apply for a tourist visa online to visit the kingdom, regardless of their profession. Saudi Arabia on March 9 announced that all expatriate residents in GCC countries, irrespective of their profession, will be allowed to obtain a tourist visa. The multiple entry visa is valid for both tourism and for performing Umrah, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb said. The tourist visa does not allow the holder to perform Hajj or perform Umrah during the Hajj season. Also,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 2 announced the establishment of a ‘Startup Bridge’ between India and Italy. Speaking at the press meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Delhi’s Hyderabad House, the Prime Minister said that both countries have laid special emphasis on increasing cooperation in areas such as renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, semiconductors, telecom and space. On India and Italy celebrating 75th years of bilateral relations this year, the PM said, “We have decided to give the status of Strategic Partnership to India-Italy partnership.” T
The United Arab Emirates’ economy expanded 7.6 percent in 2022, said the country’s Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq al-Marri on March 2. This is about double the rise in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) recorded in 2021, as the Gulf nation bounced back sharply from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, higher energy prices supported economic growth across the Gulf region’s oil exporters in 2022. This year, a slowdown is forecast with a more uncertain oil price outlook and a challenging global macroeconomic environment. The UAE aims to double the size of its economy by 2031 and
Indian exports to Australia would be tariff and quota-free within six years, said former Prime Minister of Australian Tony Abbott in New Delhi on March 2 during an interaction organised by the India-Australia Strategic Alliance. Calling the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) to be one of the best deals for India, Abbott said, “It’s the best trade deal that India has done with any major economy. About 90 percent of Australia's exports to India are to be tariff and quota-free. Within six years, 100 percent of India's exports to Australia will be tariff and qu
Private investors were the most active buyers in global commercial real estate investment in 2022, says a new report by Knight Frank. The year saw a significant $455 billion invested, making for 41% of the total investment. The Wealth Report of Knight Frank said that the number represents private investors’ highest share of global commercial real estate on record, and is the first-time private investment has surpassed institutional investment. The year 2022 was the second strongest year on record for commercial real estate investment volumes among private investors, with investors capita
Dubai is scaling up efforts to transform itself into a global industrial and manufacturing hub and attract major investments across key sectors such as aerospace, pharma and medical equipment, to name a few. This is in line with the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030, which projects an additional $5 billion in industrial sector growth by the year 2030. In the past 10 years, the contribution of Dubai’s industrial sector to its GDP has been around 11-14%, making it the third largest sector, after trade and logistics. It has continued to demonstrate solid growth even during times of global cris
India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have launched UAE-India Business Council (UBIC) to bolster economic ties and facilitate enhancing bilateral trade and investment. The two sides aim to increase non-oil bilateral trade to $100 billion and attract $75 billion in investment from the UAE to India. The UAE chapter of the UIBC was launched on February 18, 2023, on the completion of one year of signing of the India-UAE comprehensive free trade agreement. The UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi launched the UIBC-UAE chapter (UIBC-UC) in the presence of India�
India can achieve the ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2070 much before the target, said International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. In an interview, the IMF MD said that with the ambition India now demonstrates, it could take additional actions that could help in carbon neutrality being achieved earlier than expected. She added that it is important that a country like India plays a leading role against climate change, and underlined that phasing out coal is a big issue for the country. Georgieva noted that what India has done is "quite admirable" bec
India will need 30 million digitally skilled professionals by 2026, and about half of the current workforce would require to re-skill themselves in areas of emerging technologies, according to a report by employment services provider TeamLease. At present, India has about 500 million people of working age, and industry data suggests that only 49% of total youth (age group of 22-25 years) in the country is employable. The TeamLease Services’ survey indicates that 75% of companies face a skill gap in the industry. Even among people who can stay in their current jobs, 40% of fundamental abi
It is estimated that more than Rs 1,000 crore will be spent by various Delhi government agencies on the preparations for the G20 (Group of 20) summit and related events to be held in the city this year, officials said. The Indian capital will host the main summit meeting of the G20 countries and seven other related events, starting in March, during the country’s G20 presidency. The preparations that will include upgrading the civic infrastructure and beautification work among other measures by various departments of the city government and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will cost