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3 years ago
Charlie Cooksey checks into Saudi Arabia for the Dakar Rally with Audi Middle East Recently, I was delighted to be invited by Audi Middle East to the Dakar Rally being held in Saudi Arabia. The Dakar Rally (formerly known as the “Paris–Dakar Rally”) is the annual, and greatest ever, off-road motor endurance event. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, but due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, events from 2009 to 2019 were held in South America. From 2020 to 2022 the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia. From 2023, the rally is expected to take place entirely in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The rally is open to amateur and professional entries, amateurs typically making up about eighty percent of the participants. This was my first ever visit to Saudi Arabia and I was excited to see the country, after having lived in the Middle East for 5 years, and visiting for over 20 years. I was especially excited over the last few years to visit Saudi with its huge tourism development, the growth and buzz of Riyadh, and all the huge other events happening there. The energy and vibe of Saudi Arabia is […]
3 years ago
Gulf Insider’s Charlie Cooksey interviews Alfred Zucaro, Founder & President of the World Trade Center Palm Beach. Alfred Zucaro shares the World Trade Center Palm Beach’s plans for the cross-border business development with Bahrain, international trade, opportunities and benefits, and how tourism, education, and business tie together. Alfred is making great efforts in opening up trade, business, investment, and educational opportunities between Bahrain and Palm Beach County in Florida, which is ultimately a great opening into the USA and the Western Hemisphere. What do you do at the World Trade Center Palm Beach, Florida? I am the founder and president of the World Trade Center, Palm Beach. This means that I am one of the license holders for the World Trade Center Association, which is the world’s largest private trading association. There are over 325 license holders from around the world in about 90 countries. There are no two World Trade Centres that operate exactly alike. It is a license, not a franchise. But the bottom line is that it’s always gauged around the idea of developing international relationships, business and finance opportunities, and extending into educational opportunities; that’s how I got involved with Bahrain. I’m a lawyer by training […]
3 years ago
Charlie Cooksey spent a summer getaway in the iconic New York City, staying at The Ritz-Carlton Central Park. Mention The Ritz-Carlton, and images of luxe suites and Central Park are conjured into mind. These idyllic images are not far from my experience while staying at the well-known Ritz-Carlton Central Park. This 5-star luxury hotel is located in Midtown Manhattan, offering ample opportunities to discover nearby restaurants and attractions like Rockefeller Center. The Ritz-Carlton Central Park is about a 30-minute drive from LaGuardia Airport, achieved via taxi or rental car. It is located alongside Central Park, accessible by simply crossing the street. This incredible location offers the ability to roll out of bed and enjoy an early morning walk through the park. While there are 111 Ritz-Carlton company locations, this is their flagship property, and rightfully so. Upon arrival, I was greeted by an incredibly friendly staff and shown to my room by Jeremy. I was pleasantly surprised by a champagne bottle on ice waiting for me when entering my room. A few steps further into the room provided an incredible display of candies, chocolates, and sweets with edible Bahrain and British flag decorations. My photo was included, providing the perfect […]
4 years ago
Charlie Cooksey of Gulf Insider attends a roundtable by Ilka Horstmeier, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Human Resources and Labour Relations Director, and patron of the Intercultural Innovation Award (IIA) as she speaks about BMW and the IIA. The BMW Group is an international, intercultural company operating in 140 countries and has production operations in over 30 countries. Intercultural, mutual understanding, and respect are their key drivers for future cooperation, as well as climate change with their sustainability strategies and social responsibilities. The BMW Group and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) awarded ten organizations from ten countries with the Intercultural Innovation Award (IIA) at the Germman Pavilion at EXPO 2020 Dubai. The award honoured people and projects that promote diversity, tolerance, and inclusion in a creative way. Over 1,100 organizations from 120 countries applied for the award. Why hold the IIA in Dubai? Coinciding with the themed week on Tolerance and Inclusivity, and the International Day of Tolerance, it was the perfect place. I really liked the motto of the of the expo – “connecting minds creating future”. If you want to connect minds, you need to respect one another, therefore, I think it’s […]
4 years ago
Gulf Insider’s Charlie Cooksey attends the region’s largest “car culture gatherings” in Dubai. By Charlie Cooksey Last month, I was lucky enough to attend the biggest public event held by any automotive manufacturer in the Middle East and the first of its kind in the region – a very special two-day event on November 19th and 20th at The Slab in Dubai Design District. When I entered the sea of cars, I was so totally in awe of what I saw around that I actually stopped listening to what the person I was with was saying to me and had to ask them to repeat themselves (sorry Anja). So, what was “Icons of Porsche”? Well, there were more than 1,000, mostly classic Porsches on show. Hundreds of classic car owners from across the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Oman made the journey to Dubai to display their own beloved – sometimes rare and customized – cars. Porsche also brought over many special models from their museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Some of the cars on display included Le Mans-winning racing icons such as the 911 GT1 or the 917 KH which celebrated the brand’s history of success in motorsports. […]
4 years ago
Charlie Cooksey drives the world’s most powerful convertible… in Bahrain. The Ferrari 812 GTS is the most powerful production spider there is, and I had the chance to drive this mighty car last month on a special Ferrari “Lifestyle Drive”. Its amazing 6,496cc V12 engine, capable of a top speed of 340 kph, can accelerate the car from zero to 100 kph in a blistering 3 seconds – and to 200 kph in just 8.3 seconds! I first enjoyed a pre-drive coffee and chat with Ferrari Bahrain’s General Manager, Matthew Morgan. He’s passionate about the brand and we spent an hour discussing Ferrari in general, and the 812 GTS in particular. Then it came to the drive… The car was waiting for me outside the showroom and was gleaming in classic Ferrari red. It looked beautiful – like a work of art, which I guess it is. It was a perfect late October day with temperatures in the mid-late 20s, so I decided to drive in convertible mode. The retractable hard top artfully opens in just 14 seconds at speeds of up to 45 kph. I appreciated the meticulous work that went into ensuring driver and passenger comfort with the […]
4 years ago
The BMW Group and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) have bestowed ten organizations from ten countries with the Intercultural Innovation Award (IIA) for their outstanding social commitment. The award ceremony took place at EXPO 2020 Dubai (German Pavilion), coinciding with the themed week on Tolerance and Inclusivity, and the International Day of Tolerance. The awards ceremony was attended by Her Excellency Minister of State for International Cooperation of UAE and Managing Director of the Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau. The IIA honours people and projects that promote diversity, tolerance and inclusion in a particularly creative way, that move us forward as a society and as a company Ms. Ilka Horstmeier, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Human Resources and Labour Relations Director, and patron of the award said. Diversity and understanding – for strong civil societies worldwide. The BMW Group and UNAOC, through the IIA, have been promoting intercultural understanding and strengthening civil societies for the past ten years. This year, 1,100 organizations from 120 countries applied to the open call. With the support of an International Jury, 10 organizations from 10 different countries were selected: Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Sri Lanka […]
4 years ago
Charlie Cooksey spends a weekend in the Florida Keys in the pinnacle of luxury, checking into Isla Bella Beach Resort and Oceans Edge Resort. When in Florida, a trip down to The Keys is a must. The Florida Keys are a long strip of tropical islands stretching about 120 miles off the southern tip of the peninsular US state of Florida, running through the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. This long strip of islands running through the middle of the ocean ranks high in being one of the most beautiful and spectacular places I’ve travelled to, and the approximately 4hour drive from Miami down to Key West is a commute you’ll seriously enjoy. I broke the drive from Miami to Key West into 2 legs stopping over half way in Marathon, a city in the Keys, and checked into Isla Bella – a luxury resort hotel tucked away in one of the most beautiful parts of Florida and just 2 hours from Miami. A windy driveway lined with over a thousand tall palm trees greet you as you drive into the hotel entrance area, whilst the hotel is just off the main A1A road, you feel truly separate and isolated […]
4 years ago
Charlie Cooksey interviews Royal Ambassador CEO, Eng. Mohamed Al Kooheji. Fontana infinity is one of the latest and most beautiful developments in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Just recently, Gulf Insider sat down with Eng. Mohamed Al Kooheji, CEO of Royal Ambassador to discuss real estate in Bahrain as well as the newly launched Tower B of Fontana Infinity. The economy is still recovering from the effects of COVID-19. Why launch the FI Tower B now? Looking into the investment landscape in Bahrain and different asset classes today – whether bonds, gold, equity, cash, or real estate – I would say that considering real estate is one of the best investments as real estate in Bahrain is undervalued and there’s huge potential for growth. Looking into bonds, we used to see high numbers in 2017-2018, with bonds with a return of up to 6%. But today, the opportunities are no longer as they used to be, with returns of 2-3.5%. When it comes to gold, we can see that gold has skyrocketed up to $2,000. When it comes to other asset classes like cash, today, it’s the worst as we can see inflation and today many investors are considering real […]
4 years ago
Charlie Cooksey talks to Christian Gattiker, Head of Research at Swiss Wealth Manager, Julius Baer on investing in the last quarter of 2021. Are we facing inflation or deflation, and how does it affect investment decisions? We are facing a bit of both. In the long-run, we’re certainly facing deflation, with falling prices in the past 30-40 years and all the more during the pandemic. What changed during this kind of normalisation is that we have had a spike in inflation and the question now is – is it transitory or will it remain this way? Our take is that we’re in a rather intermediate increase of inflation, which is very much related to the fact that lots of things were shut down and now reopened, so there’s a scarcity of some things and that pushes up the prices. Then we see a normilasation. That means we’ll most probably end up where we were before the crisis. Meaning not deflation, but rather pricing should be in time. Why do you believe the extent of the global economic recovery is being underestimated? We suspect that the blueprint is a different one from what we usually have of the growth crisis. The […]
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