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The royals were greeted at the Mushrif Palace [...]]]> On Sunday, the Dutch royal trio – Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima – began their two day state visit to the United Arab Emirates. They arrived the previous night, but began their agenda Sunday.

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The royals were greeted at the Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE. There was a 21 gun salute in honor of the Queen, her son and daughter in law.

An exchange of honors took place between the Sheikh and Her Majesty. His Highness the Sheikh gave Beatrix the Order of Zayed, one of the United Arab Emirates’ highest civil decorations given to kings and heads of state. In return the Queen gave him one of the Netherlands’ highest orders.

Also on Sunday, the Dutch royals toured the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The Queen donned a long black dress and wore a blue scarf over her hat while Princess Maxima wore a caftan and a headscarf. This caused a bit of a uproar back in the Netherlands.

“Not to have worn one during a visit to a mosque wasn’t an option. In that case, the invitation to visit to the mosque, one of the most important in the United Arab Emirates, would have to have been refused,” explained Foreign Minister Ufi Rosenthal.

However, the Freedom Party (PVV) led by Geert Wilders, complained that Beatrix was legitimizing Islam’s oppression of women. In response, Green Left MP Tofik Dibi, called Wilders’ comments a waste of time.

For Monday, the royals the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and met with officials and senior managements of companies that specialize in oil and petroleum. Since the Netherlands have their own oil industry – Shell – this was an obvious part of their agenda.

The Dutch trio then went to Masdar, where they met with Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, for a round table discussion on tightening Dutch-UAE relations.

“This meeting builds on an historic relationship,” said the Sheikha. “Trade was always considered the most important factor for relations between the Netherlands and the UAE, and these ties continue to become stronger today. In fact, most people would be surprised to know that the Netherlands’ ties with the Arab world date back more than three centuries.”

That concluded the Dutch state visit to the UAE. Tuesday will see the same trio go to Oman for another state visit.

This visit was historic for Queen Beatrix. This was her 50th state visit since her ascension to the throne in 1980.

Sources: Khaleej Times, Radio Netherlands, WAM, Dutch News

Princess Haya, the wife of the Sheikh of Dubai, gave birth to a healthy baby boy Saturday.

Her husband, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, announced on Twitter: “Princess Haya and I were blessed with a baby boy. We named him Zayed.”

The name comes from the [...]]]>

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Princess Haya, the wife of the Sheikh of Dubai, gave birth to a healthy baby boy Saturday.

Her husband, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, announced on Twitter: “Princess Haya and I were blessed with a baby boy. We named him Zayed.”

The name comes from the founder of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

Princess Haya, who is the half-sister of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, already has a daughter with Sheikh Mohammed, named Sheikha Al-Jalila.

Congratulations to the whole family!

Source: Gulf Today

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Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan [...]]]> On Thursday, King Mohammed VI of Morocco saw the future of his country’s tourism sector grow brighter when royals from the Gulf states signed an agreement to set up Morocco’s Tourism Investment Authority.

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Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi signed the agreement, along with Kuwait’s Financial Minister Sheikh Mustafa Jassim al Shamali during a ceremony in Rabat.

The Director General of the Moroccan Fund for Tourism Development, Tarik Senhaji, pointed out during the event that having the Gulf nations invest in the North African kingdom’s tourism industry displayed the mutual trust between Morocco and those countries.

After the signing of the agreement, the royals and other delegates were briefed on two locations to be developed into tourism attractions. One was Ouarzazate which is south-east of Rabat. That place already attracts filmmakers, and will eventually have hotels, golf courses and a museum.

The other location is Oukaimden, near Marrakesh, which will also have golf courses and hotels, but also a ski resort.

In addition to agreeing to invest in the Moroccan tourism sector, Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad signed three other bilateral agreement with King Mohammed VI. They were to set up a Moroccan-Qatari investment firm, collaborate in the mining sector and putting in an addendum to a 1987 agreement for Moroccans working and living in Qatar.

Source: Maghreb Arabe Presse

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The embassy is the first one in any Arab country. Usually in [...]]]> Since Sunday, Luxembourg’s Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume has been on an official tour of the United Arab Emirates. He is there for both an economic mission and to open his country’s 35th embassy in Abu Dhabi.

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The embassy is the first one in any Arab country. Usually in nations that do not have a Luxembourg embassy have to rely either on a Dutch or Belgian one to deal with the tiny Grand Duchy. Guillaume opened that embassy on Sunday with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

“The well-maintained bilateral relations between both countries for over 40 years now, will be strengthened further through business and trade activities,” said Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, who added that the establishment of the embassy is “long overdue”.

Also attending the inauguration was Sheikha Lubna Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Minister of Foreign Trade of the UAE. She and Guillaume met to discuss bilateral economic and trade issues.

Next stop was Dubai. There, His Royal Highness met with Sheikh Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, a member of the emirate’s ruling family. Again, there were talks over bilateral ties.

Also in Dubai, the Luxembourg delegation went to the Big 5 Show, International Fair of Construction and Building. Ten Luxembourg business representatives met with hundreds of visitors.

Next stop was Ras Al-Khaimah where the Hereditary Grand Duke was welcomed by Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, who rules the emirate. The two discussed ways for Luxembourg to broaden its ties with Ras Al-Khaimah. Speaking to reporters, the Sheikh said, “The economic diversification program implemented by the government has created a fairly diversified economy in the emirate which has strived to espouse an economic vision of openness to become relevant in a rapidly evolving and interconnected global economy.”

After touring the United Arab Emirates, Guillaume will stop by Qatar once again for his economic mission there.

Sources: Wort, Le Ministere de l’Economique et du Commerce exterieur, Khaleej Times

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TongRenTang Clinic is known for its traditional Chinese medicine and procedures, such as natural [...]]]> Princess Haya, the wife of the Sheikh of Dubai, inaugurated the TongRenTang Clinic, the first such clinic in the Persian Gulf. It was opened at the Dubai Healthcare City, or DHCC.

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TongRenTang Clinic is known for its traditional Chinese medicine and procedures, such as natural herbs and acupuncture.

Dr Ayesha Abdullah, the Managing Director of Dubai Healthcare City said: “We are delighted that TongRenTang, the world-renowned Chinese brand, chose Dubai Healthcare City as its location of choice in the Gulf. As a pioneer in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which has been serving patients around the world for hundreds of years, the presence of TongRenTang will further support our vision to be a leading centre for high quality healthcare. We extend our heartiest congratulations to TongRenTang and a warm welcome to the DHCC community.”

Deyuan Wei, who helped with TongRenTang opening in the Gulf, said this about the business’ inauguraion: “It is such an honour for us to have HRH Princess Haya’s support for the opening of our first clinic in the Gulf. We are very excited to be in Dubai Healthcare City; the various teams at DHCC have been instrumental in making our dream a reality. They have guided us through the formalities and enabled everything to come together smoothly, allowing us to achieve what we have.”

TongRenTang began in 1699 and served even the Chinese imperial dynasties, such as the Qing.

If you happen to be looking closely at the above photo of Princess Haya, please note that your eyes are not fooling you. She does appear to be quite pregnant, and many royal watchers have noticed Haya is expecting her second child. It is not known how far along she is or when she is due.

The Princess already has a 3 year old daughter, Sheikha Al Jalila.

Source: AMEInfo

With her three year old daughter, Sheikha Al Jalila in [...]]]> Dubai’s Princess Haya was in Lausanne, Switzerland Saturday to inaugurate the new headquarters of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). Named after Haya’s father, the late King Hussein of Jordan, the project was three years in the making, and was funded by the Princess herself.

With her three year old daughter, Sheikha Al Jalila in her arms, Haya watched as Martin Fuchs of the Youth Olympic Games team champion cut the ribbons to officially open the King Hussein I Building.

“The building we are inaugurating has been designed to serve our wonderful sport,” said Princess Haya.

“I also feel an immense sense of pride knowing that this building carries the name of my late father and hope that this serves as a constant reminder to all of us who work at the FEI of a unique statesman, whose entire soul was devoted to the service of his people.

“Our new headquarters will play a key role for the FEI and our National Federations over the coming years. It will be the environment in which important discussions take place and fundamental decisions are taken as we continue our mission to advance the orderly growth of equestrian sport worldwide, while ensuring that the welfare of the horse and a level playing field remain at the centre of all that we do,” Haya said.

Worth $18 million, the new headquarters include offices for 62 employees plus a state of the art interactive gallery showcasing the equestrian sport.

Attending the opening was Infanta Pilar of Spain, who was the FEI president from 1994 – 2006 and Princess Lalla Amina, who is chairwoman of Morocco’s Federation of Equestrian Sports. The other 300 attendees included Olympians and Swiss officials.

Below is the video of the event:

WAM

After the ribbon cutting ceremony, Princess Haya spoke about how [...]]]> Monday saw the wife of the ruler of Dubai, Princess Haya, inaugurate the 8th edition of DIHAD – the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development conference and exhibition. This year’s theme is called “New Technologies: How they Impact Humanitarian and Development Operations”.

WAM

After the ribbon cutting ceremony, Princess Haya spoke about how the latest technologies are affecting and changing the way humanitarian and development organizations collectively operate.

“There are exciting developments that now allow aid agencies to communicate and deliver services far more effectively than in the past both in humanitarian crises and development,” she said.

“Technological advances in areas like health and agriculture have had a dramatically positive impact on the lives of the poor and hungry. Technology also presents new ways to transfer cash or food rations to beneficiaries through the use of coupons or vouchers, bank cards and even cell phones.”

“However, not all technology is appropriate and even the technology itself can sometimes be seen as a cultural intrusion,” the Princess went on to say.

“Further complicating the picture is who has access to technology.  If you had to assign a gender to technology it would most certainly be male and in the developing world men have far greater access to it, whether you are talking about something as simple as a cell phone or a complex mainframe computer.  But our targets in humanitarian aid are far more likely directed at women and children who remain outside the circles of technology and market capitalism. This presents another significant challenge.”

After the opening ceremony, Princess Haya then toured DIHAD’s exhibitions. The programs involved included the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment, the UAE Red Crescent Society, the Tkiyet Umm Ali, the International Humanitarian City (IHC) and World Food Programme (WFP).

DIHAD is one of the largest humanitarian conferences in the world. It attracts local and international figures in the humanitarian efforts field.

Source: Zawya

For the 16th Dubai World Cup horse racing competition, the wife of the Sheikh of Dubai, Princess Haya, brought along her 3 year old daughter, Sheikha Al Jalila bint Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

Haya was every bit the doting mother as she carried Al Jalila [...]]]>

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For the 16th Dubai World Cup horse racing competition, the wife of the Sheikh of Dubai, Princess Haya, brought along her 3 year old daughter, Sheikha Al Jalila bint Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

Haya was every bit the doting mother as she carried Al Jalila to the Maydan Race Course. She hugged her daughter often and also played with her hair.

Even Al Jalila’s father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, held his little girl during the horse races.

The Meydan racecourse holds about 60,000 spectators in a one-mile long grandstand, hosted the second World Cup on Saturday with total prize money of $26 million.

This year’s winner was Victoire Pisa.

Princess Haya, who is half-sister of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, is president of the FEI – International Equestrian Federation. Both she and Sheikh Mohammed have a passion for horses.

Source: Gulf News

KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images

She started her trip by attending the opening day of the World Future [...]]]> Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria began her four day visit to the United Arab Emirates Monday. Her official visit consists of going to four of the seven emirates, meeting with sheikhs, touring medical facilities and promoting Swedish products.

KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images

She started her trip by attending the opening day of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, where she was its keynote speaker.

“I am delighted to once again visit the United Arab Emirates,” Victoria began her speech. “Additionally, to be given the opportunity to take part in the World Future Energy Summit is a great honor for me. I would like to thank His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, for hosting this important Summit.”

The Crown Princess went on to discuss renewable energy and eco-friendly technology in Sweden.

“My country, Sweden has the highest share of renewable energy within the European Union. Both Sweden and Europe have high ambitions to further increase our share of renewable energy by 2020. In the area of green technology and sustainable cities, Sweden has well developed and extensive district heating networks, which can use the local available energy sources such as waste heat and other renewables. Heating may not be the most dire need here in the United Arab Emirates but the same principle may be used in the district cooling networks, which I know are more useful in this region. So one could say, that cooling is a hot issue.

“Furthermore, over the past decades the economy in Sweden has continued to grow. This growth has occurred at the same time as our energy efficiency and share of renewable energy have increased significantly. But nothing happens in isolation — we need to work across national borders. We have many things in common and important lessons to learn from each other. Both success stories and mistakes are of value in this process.”

Victoria then talked about how all members of society need to play a role in creating an environmentally aware community. She even pointed out that such action takes individual responsibility in order to make it happen.

“To be able to meet the long term challenges of climate change and also to address global and regional energy challenges, we need to work closely together,” Victoria said as she closed her speech.

Following her opening of the summit, the Crown Princess then officially opened the Swedish pavilion at the location, and attended a panel with young future energy leaders.

Later on, she visited the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Masdar Institute and inaugurated the Swedish SymbioCity Office at Masdar City. Crown Princess Victoria also opened the new IKEA store on Yas Island.

Tuesday saw her go to Dubai, where she went to the Swedish LEED Platinum certified ESAB facilities in Jebel Ali Free Zone and stopped by the Scandinavian Seaman’s Center.

On Wednesday, Victoria will go to Ajman and visit the Rashid Centre for Diabetes and Research which is working in cooperation with Swedish Global Health Partners.

As for Thursday, Victoria will end her visit by going to the Fujairah emirate and see the EWW-WWF Wadi Wurayah Mountain Protected Area.

It is not known why her husband, Prince Daniel, did not accompany her on this trip.

Sources: Kungehuset.se, Embassy of Sweden Abu Dhabi