ERBIL, IRAQ // With only months to go before the first potato seedlings would need to be planted, Bernard Quere's mission was urgent.
The Middle East envoy for the French agricultural agency France Obtention- whose slogan is L'Univers de la pomme de terre - had flown from Paris in November to sell seedlings cultivated by French farmers to Kurdish agriculturalists.
By testing and marketing varieties such as elodie, frida and universal in this economically and agriculturally underdeveloped region of northern Iraq, he hopes to increase French sales of potato seedlings to Kurdistan from about 800 tonnes. That is about a fifth of the level from before the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
"Before the war, Iraq in general was a first client of the French seed potatoes," recalls Mr Quere. "After the war, we lost everything. The market collapsed, and now we want again to go there and develop our business there."
Mr Quere is just one of the many businessmen who pass through Erbil daily, filling to the brim the few hotels that describe themselves as five-star and keeping a number of airlines including flydubai and Turkey's Pegasus busy on direct routes to the region's capital.
The visitors include insurance brokers based in Baghdad, engineers from Chinese national oil companies and even a lobbyist to the UK parliament. Their business, whether in potato seedlings or mining research, ultimately relies on Kurdistan's growing hydrocarbon revenue. At night these businessmen flock to the lobby of the Erbil Rotana.
The one-year-old offshoot of the hotel company based in Abu Dhabi is just one mark of the UAE's presence in Kurdistan. Dnata, the Dubai airport-management company, runs Erbil's airport. Sharjah-based Dana Gas produces nearly all of Kurdistan's natural gas, and OMV, quarter-owned by Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company, holds stakes in a several exploration licences.
In October, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, known as Taqa, invested US$46 million (Dh168.9m) in the Kurdish explorer WesternZagros. Last month, a merger between DNO and RAK Petroleum left the UAE company with 42.8 per cent ownership in one of the first Kurdish oil producers.
Potato seedlings, at €600 (Dh2,915) a tonne, may be small change next to the multimillion-dollar oil deals, but Mr Quere takes his work seriously.
He spots Frédéric Tissot, the French consul general, having an aperitif in the Rotana lobby, unmistakable in a wheelchair and wearing a suit. The potato specialist has known Dr Tissot for three years, ever since a business development tour organised by the ministry of agriculture in 2009. Mr Quere approaches and offers his hand. The two men exchange a few words. Dr Tissot has been busy meeting contacts from an international oil conference.
Since his first visit in 2009, Mr Quere has built up a wealth of knowledge on the Kurdish potato market. Kurds prefer small yellow varieties, while the rest of Iraq favours long, white ones. France's total Iraqi potato seedling market was 15,000 tonnes before the war.It has now recovered to 3,000.
The main issue is teaching the farmers how to grow the elodies and fridas, says Mr Quere. "We have to give seeds but also the know-how - because they lost everything."
ayee@thenational.ae
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine 2.4L four-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.4L/100km
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Company%20profile
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Indika
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if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
Company%20Profile
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.