Gulf Missions Likely in Kerala By V.M.Sathish UAE Consulate like in Kerala Trade Centre DUBAI – The Indian Government is negotiating with the UAE authorities to facilitate creation of GCC consulates in Kochi, the commercial capital of the South Indian state of Kerala. The UAE and Omani authorities have already expressed their willingness to have Consulate offices in the new World Trade Centre in Kochi to be constructed by the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry. C. P. Jain, President, Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the World Trade Centre in Koch would have consulate offices of different Gulf countries, especially Oman and the UAE. Getting consular services in Kochi has been the long cherished dream of many Non Resident Keralites who now rely on Consulates located outside the state. “We have requested the embassies in India, especially the Middle Eastern countries embassies, to commence their consulates in the World Trade Centre. We appeal to the UAE Government to take necessary steps to open their Consulate in Kerala, preferably in Kochi, the commercial capital of the state,” he said. A recent trade delegation from the Kerala Chamber met officials of the UAE chamber of commerce and industry and the Indian Business Promotion Council. The Oman Ambassador in India has already visited the location and expressed his interest in starting a Consulate in Kochi, Jain said. “We are optimistic that the UAE and Oman consulates will be located in Kochi. E.Ahmed the Minister of State is also working with various GCC governments for this,” he added. About 2.5 million Keralites work and do business in different Gulf countries and many Keralites in the Gulf region. Recently the UAE investment in the state has been increasing with Dubai Internet City investing in the multimillion Smart City project for Information Technology and the Vellarpadam Container Terminal Project. The Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also making special arrangements with the Dubai Chamber of commerce to improve the economic relation. The State Government is also lobbying with the Central Government to facilitate Middle Eastern consulates in the Kerala World Trade Centre, Kochi. The World Trade Centre project is proposed to come up in Marine Drive, Kochi with an investment of Rs.40 Crores. “Kerala Trade Centre is a golden jubilee gift of the Kerala Chamber. It is conceived to provide much needed support to the growth of business in the state and to act as a corridor for export and import exchange related services. “Most of the embassies and consulates are located in New Delhi, Bombay or Madras. It is difficult for the business community and the ordinary Non Resident Keralites to get consular services on time. The creation of GCC consulates in Kochi will help traders get certificates of origin and other consular services easily,” said Jain. “Now people have to go to Madras or Mumbai to avail consular services. The certificates of origin issued by the chamber for exporters will have to be counter signed by the Consulates located far away,” added another businessman Kerala Trade Centre is a project of the Global Investors Meet modeled on the lines of world Trade Centres, is the most strategically located commercial space in the state. The Centre would be a hub of trade and commerce in the state. An architectural splendour, dotting the scerene Marine Drive stretch, the KTC would be the ideal one stop location for the discerning businessmen to tie up all their transactions at one place. Promoted by the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it will house an Industrial Research and development center, trade information and resources center, communication center, library, media center and laborotary. Besides it will have immaculately planned shopping arcades, a Convention Centre accommodating 2000 persons, multi cuisine restaurants, food courts and multilevel car parking. It will also house major international business sectors, Government offices and Consulates of foreign countries. (The Emirates Evening Post) India in Energy Tie Up with Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, China and Turkmenistan. Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas held here today wide-ranging bilateral discussions with the heads of delegations from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, China and Turkmenistan. These leaders along with members of their delegations are in New Delhi in connection with the Ministerial Round Table on Cooperation between North and Central Asian Producers and Principal Asian Consumers regarding Stability, Security and Sustainability in the Asian Hydrocarbons Economy held here yesterday. The first meeting was held with Mr. Rustam Sodykovich Azimov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade, Republic of Uzbekistan in which Shri Aiyar proposed a visit of a high-level Indian team of officials and technical experts to explore areas of cooperation between the two countries. Indian companies are keen for collaboration with Uzbekistan in various activities in the hydro-carbon value chain including exploration and production, refining, natural gas etc. During the meeting with Mr. Idriz Rzabeyov, Head of Energy Department in the Ministry, Azerbaijan, Shri Aiyar proposed a seminar in India on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline which may be attended by the Energy Ministers of the three countries who are partners in BTC pipeline i.e. Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. He said this seminar could throw-up lessons for Iran - Pakistan – India (IPI) pipeline particularly with regard to having a safe world class pipeline project. The discussions could be moderated by British Petroleum. The Minister further proposed that this could be held during first half of either March or May, 2006or as convenient to the three Ministers. Shri Aiyar pointed out that the BTC experience could draw important lessons to the participants in the IPI pipeline as it took 12 years for BTC pipeline to come up and have 11,000 pages on standards and commitments on the pipeline. In respect of discussions with China, Shri Aiyar informed the media persons that the delegation led by Mr. Sun Yuxi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, China had the representation of senior officers from a National Development and Reforms Council and from almost all companies. The two discussed preparations for forthcoming visit of the Indian Minister to China. Shri Aiyar proposed an overarching agreement between the Ministers of two countries, which can provide an institutional framework for setting up a Joint Working Group (JWC) in the hydrocarbon and related sectors. He said, India is preparing a draft for signing during the forthcoming visit along with 4-5 MOUs between companies from both sides specifying areas of activities for cooperation in oil and gas sector. In addition, Shri Aiyar stressed the need for MOUs in the areas of Science and Technology and Energy Conservation. These two MOUs would facilitate a long-term relationship as the commercial agreements have a shorter life span. Both countries could immensely benefit and enhance their capabilities by sharing knowledge / skills. The Indian Minister further said that our companies should try and join hands together in seeking oil equity on a case-by-case basis and must try to go together as far as possible which is in the interest of both. The competition amongst these principal buyers is going to benefit sellers as seen in recent Petro-Kazakh deal. He clarified that this understanding should not bind us to always go together as there could be healthy competition in some cases. Regarding the fourth bilateral meeting with Turkmenistan delegation led by Mr. A. K. Pudakov, former Minister of Oil & Gas Industry and Head of Turkmenistanbashi Oil Refinery , Shri Aiyar informed the media that India has been invited for next meeting of Steering Committee on Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) as observers. In regard to the assessment of gas reserves in Turkmenistan, Shri Aiyar said that the visiting dignitary informed him about the enormous size of gas reserves on which they have sent a report to Asian Development Bank. This size of reserves should be enough for supply through the trans-national pipeline to South Asian region where unmet gas demand is expected to grow to about 500 million standard cubic meters per day (MMSCMD). To feed TAP, he suggested a junction of pipelines at Daulatabad connecting the sources of natural gas in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan along with that of Turkmenistan to the consuming countries in the South Asia. Best of Contemporary Arab Films Confirmed For Second Dubai International Film Festival Dubai, November 24, 2005 – Searing political dramas and other compelling film fare from the Arab world will be on offer every day between December 11 and 17, as part of the Dubai International Film Festival’s Arabian Nights program. The brand-new films, gathered from every corner of the Arab world and covering a variety of hot-button issues and diverse eras, are part of the Festival’s cornerstone Arabian Nights program dedicated to showcasing the best of contemporary Arab cinema. Included in the line-up of 14 films are Massaker, a psycho-political study of the perpetrators of the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camp massacres in 1982; October 17, 1961, a film retracing a seminal episode during the Algerian War of independence; La Ultima Luna (The Last Moon), a Chilean production about a village in Palestine in the years during and after the first world war; and Kiss Me Not, a modern-day look at a woman’s burden in Egyptian society. Masoud Amralla Al Ali, chief Festival programmer and head of the Arabian Nights section, said while the chosen films reflect issues of concern around the Arab and Muslim world, they are nonetheless equally significant for an international audience. “While the context may be from the Arab world, the subject matter in these films is important for humanity as a whole,” Al Ali said. “Some of the Arabian Nights films may be shocking and others entertaining, but each of them serves to inform and educate.” Airing compelling and sometimes controversial films is a necessary step in building cultural bridges, one of the Festival’s core aims, Al Ali said. “You cannot build bridges without examining your past,” he said. “You cannot start dialogue if you disagree. The best thing to do is to revisit the past, see what mistakes were made, clear the air and try to reconcile old grievances. Only if we understand what happened and why we can forgive, and only if we forgive can we create the clean slate that we need to start a new dialogue.” Dr. Amina Al Rustamani, Executive Director of Media, Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone, said the caliber and diversity of these top-rated Arab films were one of the Festival’s greatest strengths. “The Arabian Nights program is something we can be proud of not only as Arabs, but also something we in Dubai can be proud to be taking to the world,” she said. Festival Director and CEO Neil Stephenson said the international-quality films worked on two levels: one as a barometer of the cinematic skill in the region and the other as a window into the thoughts and feelings of the Arab people. “The Arabian Nights program goes to the heart of what we are trying to achieve as a Festival – representing the best of Arab cinema to the world, and also trying to build bridges between the cultures of the world,” Stephenson said. “If even half of those who watch these films walk away with a slightly more profound understanding of the Arab world, it will be a great achievement.” “We are very lucky to have someone as skilled as Masoud onboard as a programmer,” Stephenson continued. “He has an astonishing talent and rare ability to find edgy, incisive and thought-provoking films that promote discussion, debate and dialogue.” Although the majority of the films in this program are serious, there is a scattering of light-hearted fare, Al Ali added. The Algerian Bab El Web, for example, follows the madcap antics of a penniless young man hooked to Internet chat rooms and what happens when a French woman accepts his online invitation to visit Algiers. “Since 9/11, everyone looks at the Arab world in a different way, a one-dimensional way,” Al Ali said. “The Middle East is full of political problems, and many of these films are about those realities. But the lighter films show that there is more than one side to the Arab world.” The complete Arabian Nights category will be unveiled on Sunday, November 27, alongside the announcement of Festival films and attendees and the opening of the Festival box office. The second Dubai International Film Festival will be held between December 11 and 17, 2005, and will feature approximately 100 films including features, retrospectives and short films. DIFF 2005 is divided into 12 distinct programs - including five brand new additions - each focusing on a particular category of film. ETA Star to be the official supporters of 'Leaders in Dubai' Summit's speaker line-up includes Bill Clinton, Mahathir Mohammed and Madeline Albright November 26, 2005 ETA Star, the property development arm of the ETA Ascon Group, one of the largest business conglomerates in the Middle East, has announced that it will be the official supporters of "Leaders in Dubai", the largest and the most important business conference in the region that will be held from November 28-29, 2005, at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai."Leaders in Dubai" brings together some of the most prominent international leaders, among them former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammed and world-renowned strategic management expert Kenichi Ohmae. Other distinguished speakers at the event include Arie de Geus, F.W. De Klerk, Daniel Pink, Scott Bedbury, Spencer Johnson and former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright. Bill Clinton, former President of the USA and one of the most sought-after speakers in the world, will address the event via a live video cast. "We are proud to be associated with an event as prestigious as the 'Leaders in Dubai' summit," said Abid A. Junaid, Executive Director, ETA Star. "The summit features some of the most influential thought leaders in the modern world, including such high-profile names as Bill Clinton and Dr. Mahathir Mohammed. The event will offer delegates an excellent networking platform, allowing them to listen to, liaise and debate with these distinguished leaders.""ETA Star recognizes that conferences such as "Leaders in Dubai" are crucial for CEOs, presidents and entrepreneurs in the Arab world to get acquainted with successful leadership approaches, and has therefore been actively supporting such events. With its impressive line-up of internationally-reputed speakers, 'Leaders in Dubai' will provide decision-makers in the Middle East a unique opportunity to gain invaluable insights into the making of a successful leader and learn how to effectively address emerging business challenges," Junaid added. A leading property developer in the Middle East, ETA Star has been aggressively promoting its projects at various international forums. The company recently held road shows in three major cities in the United Kingdom - London, Manchester and Leicester - where it showcased four prestigious projects - 23 Marina, Liberty House, Al Manara, and GoldCrest Views-2. ETA Star also had a strong presence at two recent international property shows - the EXPOREAL exhibition in Munich and the DOMEXPO exhibition in Moscow."Leaders in Dubai" is expected to be attended by more than 2,500 delegates, including business leaders, decision-makers, CEOs, presidents and young entrepreneurs. The two-day summit will offer delegates multi-faceted thinking on leadership, covering a broad range of topics, including globalization, branding and strategy.