Morning. Steve Moore here. Lana Nusseibeh has formally entered the race for UN secretary-general and has taken leave from the UAE government to campaign.
The UN now lists her nomination by the UAE as dated 21 October. Our Thursday edition reported the prospect of her entering the race; her candidacy is now confirmed.
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Nusseibeh sets out her campaign
The minister of state and former UN ambassador wants the organisation to do more to prevent conflicts, negotiate humanitarian access and support local truces. Her reform proposals would require major programmes run by the UN Secretariat, its administrative arm, to report what they achieve against what they cost. She also proposes moving more resources and senior leaders closer to the people they serve.
She also addressed the independence expected of the office: “I wish to offer myself to this office as I would serve it: speaking frankly with every government and answering to none.”
Nusseibeh represented the UAE at the UN from 2013 to 2024, including its 2022–23 term on the Security Council. António Guterres’s term ends on 31 December.
The General Assembly appoints his successor on the Council’s recommendation. Candidates need nine Council votes and must avoid a veto from any of its five permanent members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the US.
In Athens on Thursday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis congratulated the UAE on presenting a “highly qualified candidate”. His published remarks stopped short of an explicit pledge to vote for her.
Athens announces agreements worth €12.75bn
Mitsotakis was hosting Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince. At their business forum, the two leaders witnessed the announcement of 18 MOUs, agreements and commercial partnerships valued at €12.75 billion, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office.
The package covers digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence, energy, logistics, healthcare and food security. The announced total includes MOUs, so it should not be read as money already invested.
The UAE also announced its intention to invest an additional €15 billion under the country’s joint investment initiative. That expands an initiative launched in May 2022 with a €4 billion target, which Mitsotakis said had already been exceeded.
The announcements do not explain how the €15 billion intention relates to the €12.75 billion package. Adding them together would overstate what has been established.
Two killed at Dammam airport
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority says a Saudi citizen and an Indian resident were killed in Wednesday evening’s attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. Eight people were injured.
The authority said operations had resumed and traffic was back to normal. It did not identify the attacker; the UAE foreign ministry condemned what it described as a Houthi attack and expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
Washington has ordered non-emergency staff at its embassy and consulates in Saudi Arabia, along with their families, to leave, the Associated Press reports. The State Department said the order applied only to Saudi Arabia.
For UAE travellers, an airport reopening does not mean flights are operating. Etihad’s notice now cancels all flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh or Dammam through Thursday 5 November, extending the 24 October date we reported yesterday.
The same extension applies to Jeddah flights EY601, EY602, EY603 and EY604. Check your booking with the airline before travelling; the notice does not promise a restart on 6 November.
Iran claims seven tanker hits
At sea, Iran’s state television said seven tankers had been attacked or struck mines in and around the Strait of Hormuz overnight into Thursday. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it struck four vessels conducting ship-to-ship oil transfers and that three others hit mines.
The Associated Press could not independently confirm the account. Its Thursday morning report said UK Maritime Trade Operations had not reported those latest attacks, so the seven-vessel figure remains Iran’s claim.
The Guards also threatened US bases if Washington continued escorting vessels through routes Iran regards as unauthorised. President Donald Trump denied that negotiations were taking place, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday. Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had said on Wednesday that Tehran was willing to give diplomacy another chance, according to AP.
Brent closed on Wednesday at $108.82 a barrel. France, meanwhile, has secured winter supplies of liquefied natural gas from Qatar equivalent to two terawatt-hours a month, President Emmanuel Macron said in Doha on Wednesday.
Robinhood chooses Dubai for its regional launch
The US retail investing platform plans to launch its products in the Middle East in 2027, with regional headquarters in Dubai’s International Financial Centre. Robinhood says it has received authorisation from the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
The company says that authorisation covers trading and custody across ten asset classes, including shares, cryptocurrencies, exchange-traded funds and investment tokens. Custody means holding assets on customers’ behalf.
Robinhood has not announced a launch month, local fees or detailed customer eligibility in this statement. Residents will have to wait for those terms before comparing them with their existing broker.
Emirates NBD grows its loan book
The bank reported record income of Dh42.2 billion for the first nine months of 2026, up 15% from a year earlier. Profit before tax grew more slowly, rising 4% to Dh24.3 billion, after higher charges for potential loan losses and the accounting effects of high inflation.
Gross loans reached Dh833 billion, up 27% since the start of the year. Some of that increase came from adding India’s RBL Bank to the group: excluding RBL, loan growth was 18%.
The bank’s outlook says UAE domestic demand and credit continue to expand. It also says tourism, trade, and logistics activity remains subdued.
E-911 reaches the design tender
The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure is seeking consultants to design a 68km highway corridor from the Dubai–Sharjah border to Al Shuhada Road in Ras Al Khaimah. Bids are due today, Friday 23 October.
The proposed E-911 will have 12–16 lanes in each direction and an 8km connection to Emirates Road in Umm Al Quwain. Local authorities have approved the route, and the concept design is complete.
For commuters in the northern emirates, the next step is detailed design. No construction start or opening date has been announced.
What I am watching
I am watching for independent confirmation of the tanker attacks and for the details behind the Athens investment announcements. Nusseibeh’s campaign also needs to turn favourable diplomatic words into Security Council support.
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Steve
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