DED & SEDD Sign Strategic Partnership To Strengthen Investor Confidence In The UAE

The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) and Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to co-operate in relevant fields, enhance the level of services provided to customers, and exchange expertise and information to attract foreign investment.

Their Excellencies Sami Al Qamzi, Director General, DED, and Ali Salem Al Mahmoud, Chairman of SEDD, signed the MoU at the DED headquarters in the Business Village, Dubai. The two parties will co-ordinate and review their respective strategic plans to identify areas of co-operation and work towards achieving common goals.

"The Department of Economic Development in Dubai is steadily expanding cooperation with public and private sectors as strategic partners in the overall development process. It is part of our strategy to promote economic growth and cement Dubai’s position among the leading global commercial and economic centres. We are confident that the MoU with Sharjah Economic Development Department will bring substantial benefits and help us achieve our shared goals," said Al Qamzi.

Al Qamzi added: "Partnerships like this have the support of the leadership in Dubai and the UAE as they will contribute to achieving integration between government institutions and promote investor confidence in the UAE, thereby bringing in more foreign investment."

The SEDD Chairman said: "The partnership with DED is part of our strategic plan to strengthen co-operation with all federal and local departments and institutions to advance public services and provide more facilities for customers across all our departments. The agreement will greatly enhance the work of the two departments for the benefit of the UAE and its citizens."

Al Mahmoud reaffirmed SEDD’s keenness to enhance communication with DED and other departments in the UAE to achieve its strategic goals of enhancing customer satisfaction and economic development.

As per the agreement, the two parties will develop a mechanism for electronic exchange of information including trade names and ways of choosing them, renewal and cancellation of trade licenses and linkage of companies, in addition to sharing economic data and studies and co-operating on policies, legislation, seminars and investment promotion activities.

The two departments will also co-ordinate on inspection and compliance procedures electronically, share observations and unify definition on violations if possible. It has also been agreed to exchange information pertaining to international relations and collaborate in export promotion and development as well as participation in local and international events.

The MoU also has provisions for mutual office visits, joint meetings and co-operation on strengthening internal capacity in the financial, communication and human resources administrations.

View the original article here

Computer hackers targeted by university-industry partnership

Melanie Swan

ABU DHABI // Amid a spate of computer attacks on global players such as Sony and the International Monetary Fund, experts say the UAE needs to bolster its cyber-security through academic partnerships with industry.

First and foremost, they say, there is an urgent need for research into digital forensics and encryption technology.

Last Updated: June 26, 2011

Busiest city roads to get 50km of bus lanes The construction of dedicated bus lanes will commence next month, with another 380 air-conditioned bus shelters planned for the emirate. Read

No fuel and now you can't even pump your tyres The closure of petrol stations in Sharjah has left motorists scrambling to find places to wash their cars, pump air into their tyres and change their oil. Read article

Armed, masked role players on rooftop arrested Four masked men who were role-playing with fake assault rifles on a villa rooftop have been arrested. Read article

Dream interpreter unravels nighttime mysteries Three times a week on his television show Ru'ya, Sheikh Wassem Yousef tells viewers that dreams really do come true. Read article

MORE UAE NEWS

Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi has begun research with the security companies Cassidian, a division of European Aerospace and Defence Systems, and Emiraje Systems, a security company in the capital that develops defence and security information systems.

Students in the university's master's course in information security, launched last year, will have access to guest lecturers from the industry. That should help them to form key contacts and make them far more employable.

"For Khalifa University such partnerships, not only in this field, are very important," said Dr Andrew Jones, who is heading the department. "It's a young university and now we're looking at who we want to play with in the security field as well as other areas."

It is also a prime opportunity for the students, whether they want to stay in academia or work for companies such as banks or telecommunications providers.

"It prepares them for a future in academia, a future in industry and gives them a wider perspective than simply the academic one," Dr Jones said.

In turn, industry gets first pick of the local talent, as well as the benefits of joint research with a dedicated team that includes master's students and seven PhD students.

"We get to build relationships with customers or potential customers," said the head of business development at Cassidian, Andrew Warnes.

"We get to find out what they really need and we are seen as more credible in the local market."

The most popular with the 13 students is digital forensics - appealing for those hoping to work in law enforcement - and cryptology, more suited for those interested in banking or government work.

"Digital forensics is seen as fun and exciting," said Dr Jones. The course was designed to meet the UAE's needs, developing expertise and local talent.

Vulnerable areas include infrastructure and utilities. Because they have a long life-cycle, often being in operation for decades, much of the equipment was not designed to cope with today's online security challenges.

"They were built with very primitive security," said Dr Jones.

Abu Dhabi Police and the Ministry of Interior have also begun to address the lack of expertise, supporting the master's programmes in cyber security at Zayed University, which saw its first graduates last year, and in information security at Khalifa University.

Lt Col Faisal al Shamari, the chief information security officer at Abu Dhabi Police, said cyber-security is one of Abu Dhabi's biggest hurdles. "The knowledge gap is a challenging issue whether we want to admit it or not," he said, adding that partnerships between academia and industry were helping to close that gap.

In January, the Nato secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, warned that cyber threats were growing both in frequency and sophistication.

In 2007, the first known case of cyber warfare occurred when Russia froze Estonia's infrastructure, including banks and government agencies, through remote computer access after Estonia removed a symbolic Soviet war memorial. Next page

8c061cbae18c0310VgnVCM200000e66411acRCRD

Khalifa University is partnering with businesses to fight computer hackers as experts say the UAE needs to bolster its cyber security.

View the original article here