UAE minister visits Serbia to discuss co-operation after Cepa signing

Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, discussed ways to enhance co-operation between the UAE and Serbia during an official visit to the country following the signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement last year.

She discussed co-operation in areas such as research and development (R&D), advanced technology, sustainability, food technology, innovation and the energy transition, a statement from the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology on Sunday said.

In Belgrade, Ms Al Amiri met Jelena Begovic, Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation, Branko Ruzic, Minister of Education, and other government officials.

They also discussed opportunities to strengthen the education system and vocational schools.

“Emirati-Serbian relations are continually developing and we are co-operating in vital sectors, such as science and technology, R&D, food security, agricultural technology, renewable and sustainable energy, as well as financing for each of these areas, which are critical to the UAE’s national vision for the future,” Ms Al Amiri said.

The UAE and Serbia signed the Cepa in September last year to bolster economic ties and boost bilateral trade between the two nations.

The Emirates is one of the largest sources of net foreign direct investment in Serbia.

The UAE is working towards signing 26 Cepa deals as it seeks to attract more investment and diversify its economy, Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq said this month.

The Emirates has signed similar deals with India, Indonesia, Israel, Turkey and Georgia. It is also in negotiations with Cambodia and Vietnam.

During her visit, Ms Al Amiri met with Milica Djuric-Jovicic, director of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, to discuss funding opportunities in the field of R&D and innovation, as well as developing financing tools to support research.

She also met with Professor Vladimir Kostic, president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, to discuss joint research in priority areas.

If you go

The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes.

The car
Hertz offers compact car rental from about $300 (Dh1,100) per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.

The national park
Entry to Mount Rainier National Park costs $30 for one vehicle and passengers for up to seven days. Accommodation can be booked through mtrainierguestservices.com. Prices vary according to season. Rooms at the Holiday Inn Yakima cost from $125 per night, excluding breakfast.

HIV on the rise in the region

A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.

New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.

Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.

Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.

Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.

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Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”