Gulf Today

Prepare for new normal and new dawn, says Alabbar

- Staff Reporter,

The Asian Developmen­t Bank headquarte­rs in Manila.

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Developmen­t Bank (ADB) and the Government of Pakistan signed the loan agreementf­ora$300million­emergencya­ssistance loan intially approved by the bank on May 19.

The Secretary of the Economic Affairs Division Noor Ahmed and ADB Country Director for Pakistan Xiaohong Yang signed the agreement on the loan, which will strengthen Pakistan’s public health response to the novel coronaviru­s disease (COVID-19) pandemic and help meet the basic needs of the poor and vulnerable.

Secretary of the Poverty Alleviatio­n and Social Safety Division Yousuf Khan and Chief Executive of the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) Nadeem Ahmed signed the project documents. Parliament­ary Secretary for Economic Affairs Division, Mohammad Yaqoob Shaikh witnessed the signing ceremony.

“The ADB assistance signed on Friday will support Pakistan’s social protection programme Ehsaas to continue providing emergency cash transfers to poor families and women,” said Yang.

“The project will also help swiftly upgrade medical facilities and procure necessary supplies for hospitals and frontline health workers, meet rapid training and capacity building needs, and purchase emergency vehicles to strengthen rescue capacity in remote border areas.”

In April, Asian Developmen­t Bank reallocate­d $30 million from the National Disaster Risk Management Project to support Pakistan’s pandemic response and the NDRMF Board of Directors allocated an additional $20 million from earned interest from the Endowment Fund capitalise­d under the project. The Government of Norway has also contribute­d $5.28 million grant to strengthen the emergency response system in Khyber Pakhtunkhw­a province amid the COVID-19 crisis.

DUBAI: Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar has told the UAE’S leading contractor­s that they must prepare for a new way of working as the economic activity gradually starts to pick up.

In the final of a special series of virtual conference calls with key stakeholde­rs, Alabbar said: “None of us have faced anything like this before, and as we work together I am confident that as a company and a country we will come out of this crisis. But we must now prepare for a new way of working. There is a new normal, a new dawn, that awaits us.”

He added: “Together, we must look closely at our systems, our productivi­ty, our efficienci­es, our technologi­es. This is the time for us to take stock not just of our great achievemen­ts in the past two decades, but how we can continue to develop the UAE’S world class infrastruc­ture, communitie­s and cultures.”

Alabbar also committed to meeting with the contractor­s once every three months to review the on-going crisis, and to ensure their own stability.

He explained: “You have grown with us on this incredible journey as true partners. Now is the time for us to protect you in any way we can, and make sure that both of us are in a strong position to benefit from the recovery that I am certain will come.”

Emaar Properties, listed on the Dubai Financial Market, is a global property developer and provider of premium lifestyles, with a significan­t presence in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. One of the world’s largest real estate companies, Emaar has a land bank of 1.6 billion sq. ft in the UAE and key internatio­nal markets.

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