Vice President of Uruguay Visits The Sustainable City in Dubai

High profile delegation visits and explores the first Net Zero Energy development in the Middle East

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 29 November 2016: The Sustainable City - Middle East’s first operational and awarded sustainable development located in Dubai – recently welcomed high profile delegations to explore the first Net Zero Energy development’s latest progress.

The delegation comprised of the Vice President of Uruguay H.E. Raul Sendic and Dr. Nelson Jamil Sha'aban, Ambassador of Uruguay to the UAE and other representatives from the Uruguay Embassy in UAE.

As part of the visit, Diamond Developers - the real-estate company behind The Sustainable City - organised a tour of the community for the delegation, led by Mr Faris Saeed CEO at Diamond Developers and Mr. Wassim Adlouni Executive Director at Diamond Developers.  The tour showcased the various innovative facilities of the city that included the green farm, the mixed used area and the residential clusters - which are being constructed in line with the three main pillars of sustainability; social, environmental and economic.

The Vice President of Uruguay praised the progress of The Sustainable City, where he stated: “The Sustainable City”, showing the right way to combine development, respect to the environment and welfare. “On behalf my country I would like to express my admiration and gratitude for your invitation and for this opportunity to visit this delightful place”.

Commenting on the occasion, Saeed said: “We were honoured and delighted to welcome H.E. Raul Sendic to The Sustainable City. The visit energized the discussion on how to mitigate climate change and reduce our carbon footprint in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay and the UAE.”

“Uruguay is a clear-cut example of real commitment to reduce carbon footprint by providing more than 95% of its electricity from clean sources. We are proud to be able to demonstrate the ability to take action towards negating the effects of climate change.” He added.

The Sustainable City was a logical destination for the Uruguayan delegation as sustainability ranks high on the agenda of their government and business community. Sustainable farming, forestry, green schooling, and renewable energy are priority sectors for the people of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. These priorities resonate very well in The Sustainable City and its goals to become the first net zero energy development, while enhancing the micro-climate and producing their own food.

LISTAPROPERTY.COM AND LISTGLOBALLY JOIN FORCES IN GLOBAL MARKETING SERVICES

Listaproperty gain access to over 200 million potential buyers through ListGlobally’s publication service

29 November 2016, Dubai, U.A.E. Listaproperty, a leader in online real estate in the MENA region, has joined forces with global property giant, Listglobally.com, an automated and comprehensive solution that publishes property listings across more than 60 countries in one simple process. 

By joining forces, both Listaproperty and ListGlobally expand their reach and offer users the benefits of their respective platforms. Listaproperty users will be able publish their listings to a broader audience located in Africa, Europe, America, Asia, Middle East, and Australia increasing their chance of deal closure.

By partnering with Listaproperty, ListGlobally offers their clients around the globe the opportunity to publish their listings in the MENA region, increasing listing visibility, improving reach and resulting in successful transactions. The international publishing service offers two tiers of visibility, classic and premium. Listings are sent via an automated feed, translated into 16 languages and clients can track publication statistics and leads on the myListGlobally dashboard.

With an increasing number of middle market property searches on global listing sites, both Listaproperty and ListGlobally improve the homeselling process for all levels of property owners. Buyers are coming from the four corners of the globe and sellers expect a global audience. The new Listaproperty and ListGlobally partnership is the perfect joining of forces - allowing global visibility for the local MENA listings as well as access for Listaproperty users to listings around the globe.

Jenaan to showcase UAE food security projects at SIAL 2016

GCC food imports expected to reach US$53.1 billion by 2020

Saudi Arabia imports 3.1 million tonnes of wheat in first 10 months of 2016  

Abu Dhabi based Jenaan Investment, is participating at SIAL 2016 which is being held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from 5-7 December. As an investment specialist within the agricultural value chain, Jenaan has a strategic objective to contribute positively towards the UAE’s food security, by investing in diversified types of agro-related projects, both regionally and internationally.

Food security is becoming a pressing issue especially with the arid climate present within the GCC countries, where little grows naturally without major irrigation systems which consume another scarce and valuable resource, water. Research conducted by the Economic Intelligent Unit (EIU), forecast that food imports to the GCC are expected to reach US$53.1 billion in the next four years.

For example in 2008, Saudi Arabia decreed to reduce local wheat production by 12.5% every year until 2016 having already eliminated barley production in 2003 to save water. Grain and forage cultivation place huge demands on non-renewable aquifer water. As a result Saudi Arabia imported 3.1 million tonnes of wheat in the first 10 months of 2016, according to the Saudi Grains Organization.

Over the past few years, Jenaan has witnessed a significant growth in its business and currently holds a long-term contract with the Abu Dhabi government to supply hay and fodder for husbandry farmers in Abu Dhabi. Jenaan manages its own farming operation, through various partnerships in host countries overseas, which supplement the hay and forage imported by the UAE.

“This year will be an important year for Jenaan. Despite the economic down turn we are still investing in mega projects, cultivating more land, securing more sources, to support the food security plans of the UAE, and the wider GCC,” said Mohammed Al Falasi, President, Investments & Business Group, Jenaan Investment.

Jenaan is SIAL’s largest exhibitor this year, covering 1,360 meter squares of floor space, or in more relevant terms, one third of an acre. Jenaan will be showcasing existing projects, new projects, and new ventures with new partners both locally and internationally. Jenaan’s projects are mainly based in agriculturally-enriched countries such as the United States of America, Spain, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, with a total land area of 200,000 acres to be cultivated and planted progressively, according to the specific project plans.

“SIAL provides us with an ideal platform to update, and meet all stakeholders, launch our new projects, sign new agreements, and view our achievements,” added Al Falasi.

Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, SIAL is the region’s fastest-growing professional trade exhibition for the food, beverage and hospitality industries is set to welcome a record number of visitors.

More than 900 exhibitors, over 22,000 trade visitors and buyers, and 30-plus national pavilions will make up this year’s exciting event along with 500 hosted VIP buyers.

"جنان للاستثمار" تستعرض أبرز مشاريع الأمن الغذائي في دولة الإمارات خلال معرض سيال الشرق الأوسط بأبوظبي

• قيمة واردات الغذاء في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي ستصل إلى 53.1 مليار دولار بحلول عام 2020
• المملكة العربية السعودية تستورد 3.1 مليون طن من القمح في الأشهر الـ 10 الأولى من 2016
• "جنان للاستثمار" أكبر الجهات العارضة في معرض سيال الشرق الأوسط هذا العام

تشارك "جنان للاستثمار" والتي يقع مقرها الرئيسي في مدينة أبوظبي، في معرض سيال الشرق الأوسط 2016 الذي يستضيفه مركز أبوظبي الوطني للمعارض خلال الفترة 5-7 ديسمبر 2016. وتتضمن أهدافها الاستراتيجية المساهمة بشكل إيجابي في تعزيز الأمن الغذائي في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة من خلال الاستثمار في أنواع متنوعة من المشاريع ذات الصلة بالزراعة على المستوى الإقليمي والدولي.

ويعتبر الأمن الغذائي من القضايا الملحة في منطقة دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي بسبب الظروف الجوية وصعوبة زراعة المواد الغذائية بدون أنظمة الري التي تستهلك موارد المياه. ويشير تقرير بحثي أصدرته وحدة الذكاء الاقتصادي (EIU) إلى أنه من المتوقع أن تصل قيمة واردات المواد الغذائية في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي إلى 53.1 مليار دولار في السنوات الأربع القادمة.

وعلى سبيل المثال، أعلنت المملكة العربية السعودية في عام 2008 عن خطتها للحد من إنتاج القمح المحلي تدريجياً لتوفير استهلاك المياه الجوفية. ونتيجة لذلك استوردت المملكة 3.1 مليون طن من القمح في الأشهر الـ 10 الأولى من عام 2016 وفقاً للمؤسسة العامة للحبوب.

وقد شهدت "جنان للاستثمار" نمواً كبيراً في أعمالها على مدى السنوات القليلة الماضية، ولديها حالياً عقد طويل الأمد مع حكومة أبوظبي لتزويد القش والعلف للمزارعين في الإمارة. وتدير الشركة عملياتها الزراعية الخاصة من خلال الشراكات في العديد من البلدان والتي توفر منتجات العلف والتبن التي يتم تصديرها لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة.

وقال محمد الفلاسي، رئيس مجموعة الاستثمارات والأعمال في شركة "جنان للاستثمار": "يعتبر هذا العام فترة مهمة بالنسبة لشركة "جنان للاستثمار" والتي ما تزال تستثمر في المشاريع الضخمة وزراعة المزيد من الأراضي وتأمين المزيد من المصادر لدعم خطط الأمن الغذائي لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة ودول مجلس التعاون الخليجي على نطاق أوسع".

ويعتبر جناح "جنان للاستثمار" الأكبر على الإطلاق في معرض سيال الشرق الأوسط هذا العام، وتبلغ مساحته 1360 متراً مربعاً، والذي ستستعرض من خلاله أهم المشاريع والشراكات الحالية والجديدة محلياً ودولياً. وتوجد مشاريعها الرئيسية في مختلف دول العالم مثل الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية وإسبانيا ومصر والسودان وإثيوبيا، وتبلغ المساحة الإجمالية للأراضي الزراعية التي يتم استثمارها 200,000 فدان.

وأضاف الفلاسي بالقول: "يمثل معرض سيال الشرق الأوسط منصة مثالية للتواصل مع الشركاء وكافة الأطراف المعنية وإطلاق المشاريع والإعلان عن توقيع الاتفاقيات الجديدة بالإضافة إلى استعراض الإنجازات التي حققناها مؤخراً".

ويذكر أن فعاليات معرض سيال الشرق الأوسط 2016 تنعقد تحت رعاية كريمة من سَمو الشيخ منصور بن زايد آل نهيان، نائب رئيس مجلس الوزراء وزير شؤون الرئاسة، رئيس مجلس إدارة جهاز أبوظبي للرقابة الغذائية؛

ويعتبر المعرض التجاري المتخصص الأسرع نمواً في قطاعات لأغذية والمشروبات والضيافة على صعيد المنطقة. ومن المتوقع أن يرحب هذا الحدث الرائد بعدد قياسي من الزوار، وأكثر من 900 جهة عارضة، و30 جناحاً وطنياً.

First New HIV Vaccine Efficacy Study in Seven Years Has Begun

South Africa Hosts Historic NIH-Supported Clinical Trial

PRETORIA, South Africa, November 29, 2016/APO/ -- 

The first HIV vaccine efficacy study to launch anywhere in seven years is now testing whether an experimental vaccine regimen safely prevents HIV infection among South African adults. The study, called HVTN 702, involves a new version of the only HIV vaccine candidate ever shown to provide some protection against the virus. HVTN 702 aims to enroll 5,400 men and women, making it the largest and most advanced HIV vaccine clinical trial to take place in South Africa, where more than 1,000 people become infected with HIV every day. 

“If deployed alongside our current armory of proven HIV prevention tools, a safe and effective vaccine could be the final nail in the coffin for HIV,” said Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health and a co-funder of the trial. “Even a moderately effective vaccine would significantly decrease the burden of HIV disease over time in countries and populations with high rates of HIV infection, such as South Africa.”

The experimental vaccine regimen being tested in HVTN 702 is based on the one investigated in the RV144 clinical trial in Thailand led by the U.S. Military HIV Research Program and the Thai Ministry of Health. The Thai trial delivered landmark results in 2009 when it found for the first time that a vaccine could prevent HIV infection, albeit modestly. The new regimen aims to provide greater and more sustained protection than the RV144 regimen and has been adapted to the HIV subtype that predominates in southern Africa, a region that includes the country of South Africa. 

“The people of South Africa are making history by conducting and participating in the first HIV vaccine efficacy study to build on the results of the Thai trial,” said HVTN 702 Protocol Chair Glenda Gray, M.B.B.C.H., F.C.Paed. (SA). “HIV has taken a devastating toll in South Africa, but now we begin a scientific exploration that could hold great promise for our country. If an HIV vaccine were found to work in South Africa, it could dramatically alter the course of the pandemic.” Dr. Gray is president and chief executive officer of the South African Medical Research Council; research professor of pediatrics at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg; and a founding director of the Perinatal HIV Research Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa.

Co-chairing the protocol with Dr. Gray are Linda-Gail Bekker, M.D., Ph.D.; Fatima Laher, M.D.; and Mookho Malahleha, M.B.Ch.B., M.P.H. Dr. Bekker is deputy director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town and chief operating officer of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation in Cape Town, South Africa. Dr. Laher is a director of the Perinatal HIV Research Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. Dr. Malahleha is deputy director of Setshaba Research Centre in Soshanguve, South Africa.

HVTN 702 aims to enroll 5,400 men and women, making it the largest and most advanced HIV vaccine clinical trial to take place in South Africa

The experimental vaccine regimen tested in the Thai trial was found to be 31.2 percent effective at preventing HIV infection over the 3.5-year follow-up after vaccination. In the HVTN 702 study, the design, schedule and components of the RV144 vaccine regimen have been modified in an attempt to increase the magnitude and duration of vaccine-elicited protective immune responses.

As the regulatory sponsor of HVTN 702, NIAID is responsible for all operational aspects of this pivotal Phase 2b/3 trial, which is enrolling HIV-uninfected, sexually active men and women aged 18 to 35 years. The NIAID-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) is conducting the trial at 15 sites across South Africa. Results are expected in late 2020. 

HVTN 702 begins just months after interim results were reported for HVTN 100, its predecessor clinical trial, which found that the new vaccine regimen was safe for the 252 study participants and induced comparable immune responses to those reported in RV144.

HVTN 100 and HVTN 702 are part of a larger HIV vaccine research endeavor led by the Pox-Protein Public-Private Partnership, or P5—a diverse group of public and private organizations committed to building on the success of the RV144 trial. The P5 aims to produce an HIV vaccine that could have a significant public health benefit in southern Africa and to advance scientists’ understanding of the immune responses associated with preventing HIV infection. P5 members include NIAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the South African Medical Research Council, HVTN, Sanofi Pasteur, GSK and the U.S. Military HIV Research Program.

The HVTN 702 vaccine regimen consists of two experimental vaccines: a canarypox vector-based vaccine called ALVAC-HIV and a two-component gp120 protein subunit vaccine with an adjuvant to enhance the body’s immune response to the vaccine. The vaccines do not contain HIV and therefore do not pose any danger of HIV infection to study participants. Both ALVAC-HIV (supplied by Sanofi Pasteur) and the protein vaccine (supplied by GSK) have been modified from the versions used in RV144 to be specific to HIV subtype C, the predominant HIV subtype in southern Africa. Additionally, the protein subunit vaccine in HVTN 702 is combined with MF59 (also supplied by GSK), a different adjuvant than the one used in RV144, in the hope of generating a more robust immune response. Finally, the HVTN 702 vaccine regimen includes booster shots at the one-year mark in an effort to prolong the early protective effect observed in RV144.

The study volunteers are being randomly assigned to receive either the investigational vaccine regimen or a placebo. All study participants will receive a total of five injections over one year.

The safety of HVTN 702 study participants will be closely monitored throughout the trial, and participants will be offered the standard of care for preventing HIV infection. Study participants who become infected with HIV in the community will be referred to local medical providers for care and treatment and will be counseled on how to reduce their risk of transmitting the virus.

HVTN 702 is one of many NIAID-supported HIV prevention trials in progress in southern Africa. These include the AMP Studies, which are testing infusions of the VRC01 antibody; the open-label HOPE study, which is examining a dapivirine vaginal ring; and HPTN 076 and 077, which are studying long-acting injectable rilpivirine and cabotegravir, respectively.

Distributed by APO on behalf of U.S. Embassy Pretoria, South Africa.

Customer Satisfaction is More Important Than Ever During the Festive Season

During the festive season, a company’s top priority is to make sure that its platforms are effectively managed and prepared to deal with an increased influx of customers

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, November 29, 2016/ -- The end of year festive season is almost upon us and for many businesses, especially those in the retail sector, this means the start of the peak activity period. In order to realize revenue targets, as well as offer a shopping experience that attracts a loyal following, it is imperative that retailers, both traditional and online, are properly geared for the expected upsurge in sales that is synonymous with the ‘silly season’. This is according to Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa (www.dpDHL.com), who points to the findings in a 2016 study by McKinsey & Company, which indicates that shoppers in the African market are developing and demanding more creative, engaging and integrated shopping experiences from brands. “Multi-channel access points and reliable digital platforms are increasing in importance as consumers continue to look for products that are value for money. Companies must give consumers solid reasons to choose their product or store over alternatives,” he says. Shoppers based in Africa shop across a number of channels and respondents claimed to have shifted a considerable amount of their spending toward modern retailers and away from the small independent retailers. During the festive season, a company’s top priority is to make sure that its platforms are effectively managed and prepared to deal with an increased influx of customers. This period is also a highly competitive time for retailers and Heymans comments that supply chain management strategies are critical. “Retailers need to ensure their supply chain is agile enough to handle the volume spike. To maximize profitability, retailers need quick, smart and cost-effective methods to fulfill orders timeously and accurately across multiple sales channels. Additionally, effective reverse logistics processes are also essential for managing returns to ensure a smooth, hassle-free customer experience. As e-tailers often extend or introduce free shipping offers over the festive season – it’s important for businesses to understand their shipping costs and processes to mitigate any potential shortfalls. Repeat deliveries stemming from incorrect products or address changes can result in additional shipping costs. Customers should also be reminded of potential duties, taxes and additional costs when importing from a site overseas. Ultimately, it’s all about managing expectations and satisfying the customers’ needs.” Heymans adds that when problems do arise, it is important for businesses to be ready to resolve them effectively. “Customers with queries or complaints should be able to access various escalation channels easily. Access to senior managers should be clearly defined so that customers do not have the added frustration of trying to track down someone who can’t assist them. At DHL Express, we introduced a best-in-class feature on our website which allows customers access to the whole Senior Management team, through our ‘Straight To The Top (STTT)’ initiative. All STTT queries are logged and reported at a country and regional level; these are effective in helping highlight broader issues and we use root-cause analysis to identify solutions,” Heymans says. Customer experience is what makes or breaks a business. “We’ve been in Africa for over 38 years, and our team of experienced employees, also known as Certified International Specialists, works hard to keep the customer at the center of everything we do. We have a saying at DHL in Africa, where we ‘take it personally’. The only way you can delight a customer is if you take the time to personally understand what they need, and do everything in your power to deliver it,” concludes Heymans. Statistics: McKinsey & Company http://APO.af/b80kVG; http://APO.af/z4Oqut. Distributed by APO on behalf of Deutsche Post DHL.  View multimedia content