Latest news with #GlobalSouth
Zawya
21 minutes ago
- Business
- Zawya
SolitAir partners with Eight Wings Aerospace for comprehensive technical and logistics support
Dubai, UAE: SolitAir, the UAE's dedicated cargo airline operating express daily scheduled services between Dubai and high-yield key trade routes across the Global South, has announced a strategic partnership with Eight Wings Aerospace, a leading provider of aerospace solutions. This collaboration will see Eight Wings Aerospace deliver a comprehensive suite of services to SolitAir, including Technical Procurement, Repair Management, Logistics and Asset Management and Power-by-the-Hour (PBH) Operations Management. This new engagement underscores SolitAir's commitment to optimizing its operational efficiency, maintaining a world-class fleet and further solidifying its position as a reliable and cost-effective air cargo solution provider in the Global South. By entrusting these critical technical and logistical functions to Eight Wings Aerospace, SolitAir will be able to streamline its supply chain, enhance aircraft availability while focusing on its core mission of seamless cargo transportation. In addition, the cargo airline will strengthen its maintenance and operations infrastructure while optimizing the lifecycle management of its growing Boeing 737-800 freighter fleet. 'At SolitAir, operational excellence is at the core of our mission to become the Global South's preferred express cargo airline,' said Hamdi Osman, Founder & CEO of SolitAir. 'Partnering with Eight Wings Aerospace gives us access to world-class technical and logistics expertise, which will be critical as we scale our operations. Their capabilities in PBH and asset management are aligned with our goals of maximizing uptime, controlling costs and maintaining the highest service reliability.' Commenting on the partnership, Luliia Zhuravel, Managing Director at Eight Wings Aerospace, said: 'We are excited to join forces with SolitAir, a dynamic and forward-thinking cargo airline on a strong growth trajectory. At Eight Wings Aerospace, our support model is designed to deliver agility, real-time responsiveness, and dependable operational execution. This partnership is grounded in a shared vision of delivering high-performance, cost-effective solutions that enhance reliability and scalability. As SolitAir accelerates its expansion across the Global South and beyond, we are proud to stand alongside them as a trusted partner—supporting their operational and strategic ambitions every step of the way.' SolitAir's current fleet includes five Boeing 737-800 BCF freighters. These aircraft operate out of its 220,000-square-foot cutting-edge logistics facility at DWC. Two additional Boeing 737-800 BCF freighters will join the SolitAir fleet by end of August 2025. The cargo airline aims to have a fleet of 20 aircraft by 2027, facilitating its goal of connecting over 50 cities within a six-hour flight radius from Dubai. The airline's versatile fleet is optimised for reliability, efficiency and the safe transport of specialised cargo, including temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, e-commerce shipments and hazardous materials. About SolitAir Dubai World Central (DWC)-headquartered SolitAir is the UAE's only dedicated cargo airline operating express daily scheduled services between Dubai and high-yield key trade routes across the Global South, catering to the bespoke transportation needs of freight forwarders, integrator airlines, SMEs, and e-commerce businesses. Thanks to its agile, customer-centric, and technologically advanced B2B, middle mile business model, SolitAir ensures the swift, efficient, and reliable airport-to-airport movement of goods and products. As a complementary partner to the global supply chain ecosystem, SolitAir bridges critical connections and delivers tailored speed-to-market solutions. SolitAir operates a growing fleet of modern narrow-bodied Boeing 737-800 aircraft connecting Dubai World Central (Al Maktoum International Airport) to high yield Global South markets across the Middle East, Africa, the Sub-Continent and Central Asia while adhering to stringent global, regional and local regulations. With a commitment to reliability, speed, flexibility and efficiency, SolitAir ensures seamless deliveries of Dangerous Goods, Pharmaceuticals, Perishables (including Meat, chicken and fish, and Frozen Goods), Valuable Goods, Vulnerable Goods, Oversized Freight and e-commerce. SolitAir was founded by Hamdi Osman in 2024 who currently serves as CEO. Hamdi is the former Senior Vice President of FedEX Express Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa. For further information, please contact: Nabil Moufarrej Chief Marketing Officer, SolitAir E: nmoufarrej@ Lejo Johnny Leidar MENA Email:
Mint
19 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Brics+ could get the globe to work out a better-balanced world order
Gift this article At first there were four. Then five. And now eleven. Egypt, UAE, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have joined Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (collectively called Brics) in the newly expanded Brics+ group of nations. At first there were four. Then five. And now eleven. Egypt, UAE, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have joined Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (collectively called Brics) in the newly expanded Brics+ group of nations. Brics+ is an eclectic grouping of countries. It owes its conception to a Wall Street report written a quarter of a century ago about the initial four 'Bric' countries and the promise of their economic prospects, mostly driven by demographics. What began as a clubbing meant for global investors to focus on has since evolved into a formal alternative platform for countries to counter Western dominance of multilateral institutions. This makes it an important forum for a post Pax-Americana world, if you will. Also Read: Brics isn't an anti-US forum, it's a voice of the Global South The group is as notable for its differences as for its common purpose. Its members make up 49% of the world's population and 41% of global output (in purchasing power parity terms). In many ways, Brics+ is at par with the G-7 in economic importance. A few members are outright adversaries of the West, such as China, Russia and Iran. Others like India, Brazil, Indonesia and the UAE are keen to retain their flexibility to swing both ways. Only India recognizes China as a competitor; all others have sought to befriend China through this group or keep their relations with it and the West on an even keel. Until the latest meeting in Brazil, Beijing was gradually exerting greater influence on the group. Its dominance was clear in the group's recent expansion. With Russia's support, China overwhelmed Indian and Brazilian hesitation, which resulted in the addition of six countries and 'non-voting partnerships' with 10 other nations. Even though Beijing's rhetoric is nuanced, its objective is clearly to push Brics towards a more stridently anti-Western stance. The goal of India (and Brazil) is to keep an alternate channel open, but not be seen as 'anti-West.' This jockeying for influence will continue within the group, with China assured an edge by its deep trade relationships with all other members. Also Read: Brics isn't out to build a wall but serve the Global South The Brics+ group of countries met in Rio de Janeiro at its 17th summit. All 11 members were represented at the meeting for the first time. However, the heads of state of Russia and China did not attend in person. Vladmir Putin, president of Russia, could only attend virtually because there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest for war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court. The absence of China's President Xi Jinping was a bit puzzling, since this was the first time he has not attended a Brics summit meeting and had played a very visible role in the earlier summits held in Russia's Kazan and South Africa's Johannesburg. Now consider the positions taken by Brics. Group communiques have consistently supported a two-state solution for the Palestine-Israel conflict and an expansion of permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council to include India and Brazil. In the financial realm, the group has emphasized the need to increase quotas of the International Monetary Fund and the shareholding of emerging and developing countries in the World Bank. US President Donald Trump leaned into the current situation by threatening a 10% additional tariff on Brics+ countries for their supposedly 'anti-American' approach. Of course, the situation might change, but Trump's words provided common cause to the 11 nations to strengthen their resolve. Trump seems to be playing a delicate game of trying to weaken the dollar so that America can export more, but doing so without losing the extraordinary privilege that issuing the world's top reserve currency bestows upon the US. Trump's choice of instrument to achieve such a balance is a policy of import tariffs, which is a blunt tool in this context and could create a lot of unintended collateral damage. Pessimists argue that Brics+ only represents a platform for 'transactional multilateralism." In the absence of shared values, a grouping of diverse countries such as this will dilute their individual stands on sensitive issues and reinforce only whatever can achieve a group-wide consensus. There is already some evidence of this in the group's careful wording on the Ukraine conflict, the non-reference to Pakistan on Pahalgam, a dilution of the two-state idea for Israel and Palestine in response to Iran's objection and a soft-pedalling on South Africa's permanent Security Council seat. Also Read: Brics for India: A trade springboard, not an anti-West wall Can Brics+ survive all the differences among member nations? Will it remain relevant in a world that has watched older post-World War II multilateral institutions turn dysfunctional? Paradoxically, the answer appears to be 'yes.' Even though member nations seem to have very different reasons for being part of this club, Brics+ still offers each country some value. For India, membership offers a way to align with other emerging economies, demonstrate leadership of the Global South, exert extra pressure on the UN for a permanent Security Council seat and retain strategic autonomy. For many developing nations, particularly in Africa and Asia, very few means exist to voice themselves on the global stage (other than trade groups). Imperfect as it is, Brics+ is one of the few forums based neither on a military alliance nor trade ties. Its primary purpose is rooted in geopolitics, with geo-economics playing a secondary role. That's why, Brics+ will keep playing a significant role—at least until the world figures out a new order. P.S. 'Nothing endures but change," said Greek Philosopher Heraclitus. The author is chairman, InKlude Labs. Read Narayan's Mint columns at Topics You May Be Interested In
Arab Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab Times
Chinese vice president meets Indian FM
BEIJING, July 14, (Xinhua): Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Monday met with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Beijing. Han said, last October, Chinese President Xi Jinping had a successful meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kazan, leading China-India relations to a new starting point. Noting that China and India are both major developing countries and important members of the Global South, Han said it is the right choice for both sides to be partners contributing to each other's success. Han called on both sides to further implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, adhere to the high-level guidance, steadily advance pragmatic cooperation, respect each other's concerns, and promote the sustained, healthy, and stable development of China-India relations. Jaishankar said that following the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi in Kazan, India-China relations have shown steady improvement. The Indian side stands ready to take the consensus reached by the leaders as guidance to maintain the momentum of bilateral ties, advance mutually beneficial cooperation, and enhance communication and coordination within multilateral mechanisms, he added. India supports China in hosting this year's Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit as the rotating chair, Jaishankar said. Enditem
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Founders And Motherhood. Advice On Balancing Leadership And Childcare
Shilpika Gautam advises that expectant mothers should bring people - such as their board and ... More employees - into their circle. Founding a startup, we're often told, is a 24/7 endeavour. For the first few years at least, you can expect the experience of running a business to be all-consuming. And of course, the same point can be made about motherhood. Just as a business needs constant attention if it is to thrive, so does a newly-born child. So the question facing new mothers who also happen to be founders is, how do you successfully balance two overwhelmingly large commitments? Many women juggle the demands of entrepreneurship with their parenting commitments, but it's seldom an easy undertaking. In addition to the time commitment required to run an early-stage company, there are also the expectations of investors, co-founders, team members, and customers to be addressed. Demonstrating that it is perfectly possible to stay firmly in the business driver's seat without making compromises on childcare is likely to be crucial when it comes to raising finance, winning contracts and motivating staff. So, is there a playbook? I spoke to two founders who have combined motherhood with running a startup company to find out. Shilpika Gautam worked in investment banking before launching Opna, a company established to unlock finance for carbon removal projects, particularly in the Global South. In practice, that involves assisting corporations and investors to find, fund and monitor the success of climate initiatives. Often these are nature-based solutions - such as Forestation or regenerative farming - that are designed to provide benefits to local communities while offering returns through mechanisms such as carbon trading. Recently, the company raised $6.5 million in a funding round led by Atomico. The business is headquartered in London and has offices in Madrid and Berlin. Talking To Stakeholders Gautam's first (and to date, only) child is now one year old and, as she acknowledges, taking on the responsibilities of motherhood alongside her ongoing role as solo founder of a VC-backed company represented a step into the unknown. 'Nothing really shows you how tough it is until you are deep in,' she says. 'I wasn't prepared for how stark the change was.' Nevertheless, Gautam stresses the importance of making plans. Before the birth, she had conversations with as many 'mom founders' as possible. She also spoke to her board and employees to let them know well in advance that she was pregnant. 'Bring people into your circle,' she advises. 'In my case, it was my board and my team.' As she recalls, her board was highly supportive, not least in terms of recognizing the financial pressures that new parents face. 'Founders pay themselves very little. My board said, let us know what you need to be the best founder possible. Do you need a supplement to your salary or money for care? That was very comforting,' Guatam says. Discussions with investors were also important. Gautam says there is no playbook for this. Speaking to other founder moms, she discovered that some of them spoke to their backers two or three months into their pregnancies, while others left it much later. 'It's important to do it when it feels comfortable,' she says. Plans to ensure the continuity of the business were also made. 'We discussed how the next months were going to go,' she says. 'We built a contingency plan. How do we tackle prospects? How do we tackle new customers? How do we tackle investor relations? How do we tackle comms? How do we tackle team management? Sharing Responsibilities One important step was to split at least some of the responsibilities. 'We had a Chief of Staff who acted as a de facto me to anchor the business,' says Gautam. Sharing roles or hiring a new member of staff can play a crucial role in helping a founder balance the role of leader and mother. Hailey Eustace is the founder of Complicated, a communications and PR company serving deeptech startups working in fields such as AI, quantum computing and bioscience. Eustace had previously worked in comms for businesses such as Microsoft and HSBC. As a mother of two children, she decided to start her own company, partly because the move would give her much more flexibility. ' I wouldn't have started the business if I hadn't been a mom,' she says. And as she explains, her first hire was an assistant - someone who could handle many of the tasks that tend to keep founders bogged down in day-to-day administration. 'My strategic and creative thinking is the most valuable asset of the company,' she says. 'By hiring an assistant to handle all the busy work, I gained 20-30% of productive time. Eustace has also been careful about the work she takes on. 'I am extremely picky about clients,' she says. 'Are they an excellent company? Will they be flexible with me?. Are they kind? Do I want to spend more time with them than I do with my family? Fortunately, the company is stable enough to allow me to make those decisions.' Not every founder will feel comfortable being selective about customers. For many , the imperative is to book as much new business as possible. However, there are other ways in which leaders can reduce at least some of the demands of working life without affecting the performance of their businesses. Cutting down on travel is a case in point. Guatam says that in the weeks and months following the birth of her child, she continued to attend industry events, It wasn't always a comfortable experience. 'My baby was exactly ten weeks old when I went to a conference in Copenhagen and after that I went to a climate event in New York,' she recalls. 'Copenhagen was OK, but New York was miserable. The reality is, you are a different person. There is someone who depends on you.' But it is possible to be selective. Not every event is essential but most eat up a lot of time in terms of travel, overnight stays and time at the conference or exhibition itself. Eustace says she now only attends about 10% of the events that she would once have gone to. Finding Your Village There will always be times when the demands of children and clients are pulling in different directions. Citing her own experience, Eustace says it is often necessary to improvise workarounds. 'In PR there are things where you have to do it right now. So you have to say, my kids are going to watch TV for an hour. Or you get support from your partner. My partner has a flexible work schedule and he works from home.' There is perhaps a bigger issue here about support. Gautam says it is important to find your village - the community that will provide help and assistance when it is required. 'It might be siblings, friends, people you trust or even a nanny,' she says. Combining the role of founder and mother can be tough, but Gautam is keen to stress that with good communications and clear plans in place the performance of the business should not be affected. 'The first year of my baby's life as also been the best year for Opna,' she says.I
Times of Oman
3 days ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
MEA report 2024 highlights India's key diplomatic engagements, achievements
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has released its annual report for 2024, highlighting India's key diplomatic engagements and achievements. According to the report, India's foreign policy demonstrated "vibrancy and pragmatism" in advancing national interests amid a rapidly evolving global landscape. In the year 2024, India engaged actively with the world in advancing its national interests amid a rapidly evolving global landscape. Indian foreign policy demonstrated vibrancy and pragmatism, yielding significant achievements that also enhanced India's global stature and goodwill, the Ministry of External Affairs wrote in its annual report 2024 on Friday. Bilateral engagements with like-minded partners were complemented by India's proactive initiatives and leadership in plurilateral and multilateral platforms. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) played a pivotal role in steering India's foreign policy and global diplomacy towards pragmatic goals, it added. India remained steadfast in expanding its strategic autonomy, championing meaningful reforms of multilateral institutions, addressing the priorities of the Global South, and safeguarding its security within the framework of the rules-based international order. These efforts underscored India's commitment to shaping a more equitable and inclusive global governance framework. The year witnessed continuing economic fluctuations, climate change impacts, geopolitical tensions, and social disruptions, with persistent challenges on global health and environmental fronts. India remained actively engaged on the global stage, addressing major global challenges through high-level discussions and collaborations. This included strengthening partnerships bilaterally and active participation in notable regional and global groupings such as the UN, G20, G7, Quad, SCO, and BRICS. By virtue of being the preceding G20 President, India continued to work with Brazil under the Troika grouping (India, Brazil, and South Africa). Building on the work done during India's G20 Presidency, Brazil identified three priorities for 2024, which broadly involved social inclusion, energy transition, and the reform of multilateral governance institutions. The report notes that India remained actively engaged on the global stage, addressing major global challenges through high-level discussions and collaborations. The MEA report highlighted PM Modi's participation in the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 18-19 November. Prime Minister's interventions were widely appreciated across the spectrum of developed and developing countries for being human-centric, constructive, and development-oriented. This was also the first G20 Summit in which the African Union participated as a permanent member, following its inclusion at the New Delhi G20 Summit in September 2023. In August, India hosted the 3rd edition of the Voice of Global South Summit in virtual format under the overarching theme 'An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future,' MEA stated. India also hosted the 3rd edition of the Voice of Global South Summit, which saw the participation of 173 dignitaries from 123 Global South countries. During the summit, PM Modi proposed a "global development compact" to promote sustainable development in the Global South--the compact focuses on trade, capacity building, technology sharing, and financial support. The report highlights India's commitment to combating terrorism, with the country collaborating actively with the global community to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. India also reinforced its credentials as a reliable "first responder" in crises, undertaking three major Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations during the year. Earlier in June, the Prime Minister participated in the Outreach Session of the G7 Summit in Italy, where he engaged with global leaders on key global challenges. At the summit, PM Modi emphasised that technology must be guided by a human-centric approach, highlighting India's success in leveraging digital advancements for public service delivery. He underscored India's commitment to "AI for All," advocating for AI's role in fostering global progress and well-being. He also stressed the importance of prioritising the concerns of the Global South, particularly Africa, recalling India's role in securing the African Union's permanent membership in the G20, as per the report. PM Modi also held discussions with the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni on further strengthening the India-Italy Strategic Partnership. Throughout the year, India collaborated actively with the global community to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and worked with partner countries towards capacity-building, best practices exchange, and information sharing in the counter-terrorism domain. During the year, India participated in various Counterterrorism Working Groups, engaging with its partners on combating the menace of terrorism, including within the Quad grouping and with France, Kazakhstan, and Australia. The FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Mutual Evaluation of India culminated with the FATF Plenary at Singapore in June, wherein India's report was finalised, and the FATF Plenary concluded that India had reached a high level of technical compliance with the FATF requirements. This indicated that India's anti-money laundering, counter terror financing, and Counter Proliferation Financing (CPF) regime was achieving effective results. India reinforced its credentials as a reliable 'first responder' in crises, both in its neighbourhood and beyond, by undertaking three major Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations during the year. These operations included Operation Indravati in Haiti, a special Humanitarian Airlift Operation in Kuwait, and Operation Sadbhav in Myanmar. Apart from these operations, India provided HADR assistance to more than 20 countries during the year. The report further emphasised that Operation Indravati, which was launched in March to evacuate Indian nationals from Haiti amidst civil unrest. In June, a special Humanitarian Airlift Operation was conducted in Kuwait to repatriate the mortal remains of 45 deceased Indian nationals. In September, Operation Sadbhav was launched to extend emergency humanitarian assistance in the wake of the floods caused by Typhoon Yagi in Myanmar. Apart from these operations, India provided HADR assistance to more than 20 countries during the year. In 2024, India also continued to provide its humanitarian assistance to conflict zones in West Asia. India supplied anti-cancer medicines to Syria and coordinated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to supply 30 tons of humanitarian aid and essential life-saving drugs for the people of Palestine. In July, India rescued nine crew, including eight Indians, in a joint search and rescue operation with the Omani authorities from MT Prestige Falcon, a Comoros-flagged vessel that capsized off the coast of Oman. During the year, India also marked several significant diplomatic milestones, celebrating decades of ties with partner countries. These milestones reflected India's continued commitment to nurturing historic and evolving partnerships. Overall, the MEA report highlights India's growing global stature and goodwill, with the country's diplomatic efforts yielding significant achievements in advancing national interests and promoting global cooperation.
