LOCALARAB TIMES, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2018

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Al-Shaya Group keen to furtherexpand ‘investments’ in Egypt

Move will increase job opportunities

CAIRO, Oct 1, (KUNA): Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly dis-cussed injecting new investments and expanding upon cur-rent investments in Egypt with Kuwaiti b u s i n e s s m a n Mohammad Al-Shaya, state media said on Sunday.

During the talks, attended by Egypt’s Investment Minister Sahar Nasr, Madbouly pointed out to a number of projects the Al-Shaya Group could be a part of and invest in, accord-ing to MENA news agency.

Both sides have expressed “strong keenness on this coop-eration,” added the reports.

Providing the necessary land plots for shopping cen-tres or hotels is not a problem, the minister told the Al-Shaya Group chairman, as several sites in newly-developed areas are ready.

The Egyptian government now has the experience need-ed to cooperate with private businesses and stands ready to remove any obstacles to these investments, he said.

Al-Shaya, for his part, said the group was seriously con-sidering the offer and has sev-eral ideas, including building another The Avenues Mall in the country.

The move would have a positive impact on tourism and would offer increased job opportunities, he said.

The group is a regional agent for around 100 global retail brands and owns stores in 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, including Egypt.

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The Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) announced on Monday lift-ing the ban on all kinds of live birds, one-day old chicks and hatching eggs from Sweden, after determining that these products from this nation have become free of bird flu.

The authority affirmed in a statement to KUNA that all orders should be subject to conditions and controls of PAAAFR’s animal health department, in accordance with the veterinary quarantine regulations in Kuwait and other GCC countries.

Imports of poultry infected with epidemic and infectious diseases will be rejected and the importer will compelled to send back the cargo on his (her) own expense.

KUNA photosMinister of Trade and Industry Khalid Al-Roudhan presenting Saudi Minister of

Trade and Investment Majid Al-Gosaibi with a memento.

Taking Gandhi to schoolsBy Dr Anis Ahmad

Director, SIMS, Kuwait

KUWAIT CITY,Oct 1: India cele-brates the birth anniversary of a great soul, the Father of The Nation on Oct 2, popularly known as ‘Bapu’. On this great occasion we see Bapu back in all the Indian schools in India and abroad.

As many children attire to imitate Bapu it is time for introspection, ‘Are we doing enough?’ Are schools even trying to teach some of his principles and thoughts on peace, love, har-mony, truth, honesty, integri-ty, self belief, respect for all and of course non-violence.

I think his principles and philosophy of life these days are slowly vanishing as we can see the disintegration of society and our children are the most affected. The solution for this lies in the lessons taught by him through his ‘Simple Living and High Thinking’.

His life story itself is a wonderful lesson for all of us, as it has been time and again, that it is possible to remain gentle in spirit, yet simulta-neously command a huge amount of strength and respect.

He said, “in a gentle way, you can shake the world” – in a world in which authority is valued over authentic leadership. I believe we have a lot to learn from the man who fought for our nation with his mind alone.

His philosophy was not purely based on theory; instead he lived by rules of pragmatism. He practiced what he preached every day of his life. What an inspiring, authentic way to live! If we really want to pay real tribute to the “Mahatma” we should bring him back to the school every day instead of once a year.

His principles and his values should be part and parcel of our school’s day to day activities, cur-ricular or co-curricular. I do remem-ber watching a play written by Urdu writer Khwaja Ahmed Abbas under the title ‘Letters from Children to Mahatma Gandhi’ based on the life of five children who decide to write a letter to Mahatma Gandhi in heav-en requesting him to return back to this world.

Bapu, as he was lovingly known, had a great influence on everyone. Here, I would not talk about his birth and his works as there is not a single soul in India who does not know that. However, we all know a lot will be written today only to forgotten

tomorrow.Let us all (at least those who are in

education, who are involved in molding young minds) try to keep his memories alive in our schools. It should be visible through our daily routines and the values and princi-ples that we try to inculcate in our children.

So let us teach our children self-belief which is a determining factor in your success. Believe in what you do and never change your mind even if no one stands by you.

Never let that faith in yourself die because that’s the only thing you need to realize your dreams and pull you together during rough times.

Integrity, the quality of being hon-est and having strong moral princi-ples are strong qualities, however, attractive options may lure you away from the truth and do something which you may regret later. Integrity comes from a congruence between thoughts, feelings, words, and actions when all that you are and do spring from your core values.

Gandhiji was one of the greatest examples of integrity we have seen in modern times, and the many mov-ing stories about his life demonstrate the power of teaching this character trait by example.

I think the children of today need to understand the value of respecting all without discrimination. In a coun-try like Kuwait where people from so many countries live together in the midst of diverse culture, we defi-nitely need our children to under-stand that everyone is equal and deserve to be respected.

When it came to leadership, Gandhi was by far one of the stron-gest and most powerful leaders the country has ever produced. What we need today in corporate, social and political environment is a leader with a single vision. Gandhi once famous-ly said, ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win’. This is the sign of a great leader.

Simplicity and humility won him the hearts of his followers because he was modest, reverential and politely submissive.

In schools we can observe honesty day, truth day, peace day, help day, respect day etc and not only make October 2 as a cause for celebration.

Gandhi firmly believed in the reli-gion of humanity. He said the essence of all religions is one, the approaches are different. We have to groom our children to be responsible citizens of the world and understand the meaning of co-existence the schools can certainly have a role to play.

Let us adhere to what Mahatma Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Let us be that change.

Dr Anis Ahmad

MPW approves inclusion of two companies in bid list KUWAIT CITY, Oct 1: The Ministry of Public Works has approved the inclusion of two companies on the list of those qualified to bid for the estab-lishment and maintenance of parking

area, service buildings and roads lead-ing to the new terminal at Kuwait International Airport, reports Al-Rai daily.

A knowledgeable source told the

daily that the ministry approved two out of 14 companies which submitted grievances to the Central Tenders Committee after the ministry rejected their qualification applications.

MoCI discusses ties with Saudi counterpart: Kuwait Minister of Commerce and Industry Khaled Al-Roudhan Monday discussed with Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment Majed Al-Qasabi cooperation between the two countries.

The two sides discussed ways of boosting and developing bilateral relations, especially in the economic, trade and industrial fields as well as increasing trade exchange, the ministry said in a statement.

Minister Al-Roudhan stressed deep-rooted rela-tions between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and praised depth of brotherly relationship between the two countries’ leaderships. (KUNA) ❑ ❑ ❑

Kuwait shooter Shahad Al-Hawal wins gold: Duaij Al-Otaibi, chairman of the Kuwaiti and Arab shooting federations, in a phone call with KUNA, congratulated the Kuwaiti woman champion for the win, wishing that she may continue to excel in shoot-ing at the Arab, regional and international levels.

He also voiced fecilitations to the top leaders, namely Their Highnesses the Amir, the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister, as well as the govern-ment and the Kuwaiti people for the shooter’s accomplishment.

Egyptian shooter Suzan Jaber came second fol-lowed by her fellow citizen, Maji Ashmawi. (KUNA) ❑ ❑ ❑

Council expresses resentment: The Central Council of Jews in Germany expressed resentment over the Frankfurt Supreme Court’s decision to dis-miss the lawsuit filed by an Israeli against Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC), which canceled his booking with stopover in Kuwait, reports Al-Qabas daily.

Josef Schuster, Chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, demanded for withdrawal of the airline’s license.

This is in view of the case of a man holding an Israeli passport who booked a roundtrip flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok with stopover in Kuwait but the airlines did not allow him to travel on board the KAC aircraft.

News in Brief