UAE President, Azerbaijan's parliament speaker discuss ways to enhance bilateral relations
The meeting, which took place at Qasr Al Shati in Abu Dhabi, was attended by Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council.
Sheikh Mohamed extended a warm welcome to Speaker Gafarova, wishing her a successful and productive visit.
He underscored the strong and enduring ties between the UAE and Azerbaijan.
During their meeting, Sheikh Mohamed and Sahiba Gafarova discussed bilateral relations and areas of cooperation, with particular emphasis on parliamentary collaboration.
They highlighted the importance of inter-parliamentary engagement in strengthening bilateral ties and promoting mutual understanding on shared issues.
Both sides also acknowledged the role of legislative bodies in fostering dialogue and closer relations between nations, contributing to regional and global stability.
Speaker Gafarova commended the progress in Azerbaijan-UAE relations, attributing this advancement to robust cooperation and the shared vision of both nations in achieving development and prosperity for their peoples.
The meeting was attended by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Dr. Ahmed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the President's Office for Strategic Affairs at the Presidential Court and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office; Dr Sedra Al Mansoori, Vice Chair of the UAE-Azerbaijan Friendship Committee, and several officials.
WAM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
25 minutes ago
- Khaleej Times
Back to school 2025 drives 18% online sales growth in UAE
Back to School is fueling an 18 per cent rise in online orders in the UAE compared to the same period last year, a study showed. Flowwow, a UAE-based global gifting marketplace, and Admitad, a global performance marketing company, have conducted a joint e-commerce research, by analyzing over 1.3 million online orders placed across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) in July, August, and early September of 2024 and 2025. While gross merchandise value (GMV) grew by 22 per cent. The average order value (AOV) climbed from $98 to $115, reflecting rising household spending, inflationary pressures, and high digital adoption. With Dubai International Airport (DXB) expecting more than 3.6 million travellers during the back to school peak from August 13-25, retailers and online marketplaces are preparing for record seasonal spending. Between 2023 and 2024, online orders in the UAE grew 15 per cent year-on-year, with GMV up 23 per cent, and the average basket size rose from $79 to $96. At the same time, mobile shopping surged with the share of UAE purchases via smartphones rising from 39 per cent in 2023 to 47 per cent in 2025. This reflects families' growing mobile-first preferences, as they increasingly rely on apps and social platforms for last-minute buys, while also consolidating their shopping into larger, more efficient bundle orders. The busiest shopping period was August 26 – September 1, 2024, just before the new school term. With the 2025 term starting on August 25, experts expect the seasonal peak between August 20 and September 1. Summer mega-sales such as DSS, which drove a 12 per cent rise in orders in 2024, are pulling demand forward — but families still make a final 'term-start' surge with a value-driven approach. In the UAE, fashion dominated back to school online baskets, accounting for 27 per cent of purchases, followed by electronics (18 per cent), home and garden (14 per cent), car products (10 per cent), and toys & hobbies (8 per cent). While 'fashion' dominated, 1.5 per cent of all UAE e-commerce orders fell into the 'gifts & flowers' category, showing the emotional side of the season. On Flowwow's online gifting platform, back to school gift orders grew 126 per cent year-on-year, while GMV increased 154 per cent across the Emirates. Artisan flower bouquets were the fastest-growing product category (+145 per cent), followed by gift bundles (+137 per cent), bakery (+124 per cent), and gift hampers (+96 per cent). The platform also recorded a 19 per cent increase in average order value compared to last year, as parents increasingly ordered back to school gifts both for teachers and for their children — helping to mark the transition from holidays to the new academic term more smoothly. When it came to gifting preferences, flowers accounted for 65 per cent of orders, followed by confectionary and bakery products (13 per cent), edible bouquets of strawberries (6 per cent), balloons (3 per cent), and indoor plants (2 per cent). All were fulfilled by local SMEs — small, independent UAE retailers including flower shops, bakeries, and confectioneries. 'The Back-to-School season goes far beyond the realm of big-box retailers — it's a golden opportunity for small and independent sellers to thrive,' said Slava Bogdan, CEO and Co-founder of Flowwow. 'On Flowwow, these seasonal peaks enable UAE-based SMEs to boost sales, reach new customers online, and strengthen ties with their communities. For families, it's not only about convenience and speed, but also about the satisfaction of supporting homegrown businesses.' School-related categories surge in UAE In the UAE, demand for school-related products accelerated sharply between July and August 2024. According to Admitad's calculations, child goods (+28 per cent) and books (+27 per cent) led the way, while sportswear (+25 per cent), stationery and office supplies (+22 per cent), apparel (+16 per cent), furniture (+15 per cent), and bags and backpacks (+10 per cent) all recorded double-digit growth. The most striking shift was seen in online education services, which recorded sales growth of more than 50 per cent, underlining parents' growing interest in digital learning tools alongside traditional school supplies. Mena: Distinct consumer behaviours across markets Across the Mena region, electronics (21 per cent) and fashion (19 per cent) dominated back to school orders, followed by home goods (18 per cent), car products (8 per cent), and beauty and health (6.5 per cent). Spending patterns differed by country. Kuwait recorded the highest average order value (AOV) at $124, followed by the UAE at $96 and Jordan at $66, while Saudi Arabia ($49) and Qatar ($46) reflected more cost-conscious baskets. The regional AOV in Mena in general reached $35, showing how shopping behaviors and household priorities vary across the region. In Saudi Arabia, fashion (24 per cent) and electronics (21 per cent) led seasonal online purchases, supported by home & garden (15 per cent), car products (11 per cent), and toys & hobbies (5 per cent). This underlines how each market approaches Back-to-School differently: some emphasize higher-value purchases, while others focus on volume, affordability, and mobile-first convenience. 'The back to school season has become one of the most powerful retail moments in the Mena retail calendar, second only to mega-events like Black Friday and Ramadan,' said Anna Gidirim, CEO of Admitad. 'Our data shows families across the region reshaping their habits — consolidating purchases into larger baskets, shifting more spend to mobile, and balancing value-driven shopping with premium buys.' With the GCC student population projected to rise from 14 million to 15.5 million by 2029, at a CAGR of 2.1 per cent, back to school is set to remain one of the region's most important retail moments. Analysts expect further growth in online education, school-related supplies, online gifting and mobile-driven purchases, as families balance higher costs with long-term investments in learning.
Khaleej Times
25 minutes ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE man 'so happy' to win Dh100,000, plans car upgrade
For the last five months, Abdalla Ali Gharib has been playing the UAE Lottery twice a week, spending up to Dh100. In June this year, the UAE national struck gold by winning Dh100,000. He said when he found out he had won; he couldn't believe it. 'Honestly, it took a moment to sink in,' he said in an interview with Khaleej Times. 'At first, I thought it couldn't be real. But after checking the numbers several times, I realised it was true.' He said he still remembers the moment he found out he won. 'I was checking the draw results on the website, and the first thing I saw was the word 'Congratulations',' he recalled. 'I didn't believe it. Then I saw Dh100,000 and checked the numbers again. All of them matched except for one. I was so happy.' Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. The UAE Lottery was launched in December last year, following rigorous regulations by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA). It offers a whopping Dh100-million jackpot up for grabs every fortnight as well as prizes ranging from Dh100 to Dh100 million, depending on the number of digits matched. First person to call According to Abdalla, who is in his forties, the first person he told about his windfall was his best friend. 'He's very close to my heart, and he's genuinely happy when I'm happy,' he said. 'He congratulated me right away and told me I deserved it.' The win came from one of three tickets he bought. He said that he followed a different strategy for picking each one. 'One was a quick pick with random numbers,' he said. 'For the second, I had numbers chosen to represent my family, and for the last one, I picked numbers based on the first thing I saw when I opened my phone — the date and time.' The strategy paid off for him. He added that with the money he won, he would upgrade his car and will continue playing the game. 'I'll sell my current one and get a better model,' he said. 'I have been playing for almost five months, twice a week, playing with Dh50 or Dh100. Of course, I'll keep playing and hope that next time all my numbers match.' If all the numbers match, the player wins the Dh100 million lottery. According to the company's website, the odds of winning the jackpot is approximately 1 in 8.8 million. No one has been able to claim the grand prize as yet but Bishop Woosley, director of Lottery Operations at The Game, which runs the UAE Lottery, has earlier told Khaleej Times that someone will 'for sure' win the jackpot and that there was 'no doubt about it'. Earlier this year, the company also launched several smaller, quick-win games to keep engaging with UAE residents. Last month, it launched four new scratchcards which gave players the chance to win up to Dh1 million on the game's website.
Zawya
an hour ago
- Zawya
BurjX fortifies digital asset security with fireblocks and institutional-grade insurance
ABU DHABI, UAE /PRNewswire/ -- BurjX, the UAE-born digital asset trading platform, licensed for both brokerage and custody services by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM, the international financial centre of Abu Dhabi, the Capital of the UAE, has announced that it is leveraging Fireblocks, an enterprise platform providing digital asset infrastructure solutions to businesses building on blockchain, to secure its digital asset trading and custody operations. With over US $2.17 billion lost to crypto theft in the first half of 2025 alone and just 22% of exchanges offering full insurance coverage, BurjX delivers market-leading protection through Fireblocks' digital assets infrastructure and comprehensive insurance backed by Relm Insurance, the leading specialty insurer for digital assets. Built on institutional-grade technology designed to handle one million transactions per second, BurjX delivers a seamless blend of speed, scale, and security. At the core of its custody architecture is Fireblocks' MPC wallet technology, which safeguards user assets with advanced cryptographic protections that eliminate single points of failure. Private keys are never exposed, and every transaction is secured by role-based access, automated policy controls, and multi-layer authorization flows. "BurjX is entering the market with a clear commitment to regulatory compliance and security-first infrastructure," said Stephen Richardson, Chief Strategy Officer at Fireblocks. "We're proud to provide the MPC wallet infrastructure that enables BurjX to operate securely, giving users confidence and control as the UAE's digital asset ecosystem grows." To strengthen compliance and risk monitoring, BurjX has integrated Notabene to comply with the Travel Rule and Chainalysis to monitor transactions and on-chain activity, ensuring transparency and alignment with global AML standards. "All digital asset custody at BurjX, from hot wallets supporting active trading to cold wallets for long-term storage, is underpinned by Fireblocks infrastructure," said Omar Abbas, Co-Founder and CEO of BurjX. "This foundation gives our users confidence that their assets are protected by industry-leading security, covered by comprehensive insurance, and fully compliant with one of the world's most rigorous regulatory frameworks." In addition to enterprise-grade wallet security, BurjX has implemented comprehensive insurance coverage across both hot and cold wallet environments, giving users end-to-end protection against internal and external threats. This unified approach to security and execution allows both individual and institutional users to access deep liquidity, fast execution, safe custody on a single, integrated platform. By leveraging Fireblocks, BurjX reinforces its commitment to delivering a trusted, transparent, and high-performance digital asset trading experience in the UAE and beyond. About BurjX BurjX is a UAE-born digital asset brokerage and custodian, fully licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM, the international financial centre of Abu Dhabi. Founded by Omar Abbas, co-founder of Canada's leading digital asset exchange NDAX, and Adam Ferris, a Harvard JD/MBA and ex-Goldman Sachs, BurjX offers institutional-grade trading and custody, seamless AED on and off-ramps, and multi-layer security infrastructure. Built for trust and performance, BurjX is redefining how the region engages with digital assets and setting a new benchmark for regulated, homegrown innovation. About Fireblocks Fireblocks is the world's most trusted digital asset infrastructure company, empowering organizations of all sizes to build, manage and grow their business on the blockchain. With the industry's most scalable and secure platform, we streamline stablecoin payments, settlement, custody, tokenization, and trading operations across the largest ecosystem of banks, payment providers, stablecoin issuers, exchanges, and custodians. Over 2,200 organizations – including Worldpay, BNY Mellon, Galaxy, and Revolut – trust Fireblocks to secure more than $10 trillion in digital asset transactions across 100+ blockchains.
