World Cup 2022: Qatar draws in multi-nation security force for tournament

Qatar is set to begin drills involving thousands of police and personnel from 13 countries who will jointly handle security at the Fifa World Cup 2022.

The host nation, which faces a shortage of personnel, will draft in gendarmes from France and riot police from Turkey, among others.

This weekend, exercises lasting five days will begin.

Qatar is expected to welcome 1.2 million fans, in a country with a population of less than 3 million.

So far, the following countries have confirmed their participation in the security effort for the November 20 to December 18 tournament: Germany, Finland, France, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, the US and the UK.

Who is sending what?

Last week, Qatar's Ministry of Defence announced the Gulf country and the US signed an agreement on countering the threat of unmanned aircraft systems.

In a joint statement, the Qatari ministry and the US Department if Homeland Security agreed to share “lessons learnt and best practices … to help secure [the] World Cup”.

The UK's Ministry of Defence said the RAF and the Royal Navy would help with maritime security support, advanced search training, operational planning and command and control support, and further specialist advice.

The RAF will support counterterrorism efforts through air security operations alongside the Qatar Emiri Air Force.

France said it was sending 191 gendarmes along with de-miners and sniffer dogs to help maintain security.

Nato said also it would provide security support to Qatar, including “training against threats posed by chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials”.

In December, Turkey announced plans to send 3,000 members of its riot police to Qatar. Turkish legislators have agreed to deploy 250 troops and a small warship for six months under Operation World Cup Shield.

It will also be sending chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence experts.

Last month, Pakistan's cabinet approved a draft agreement for the government to offer troops for the tournament.

The Pakistan contingent, comprising army officers, junior commissioned officers and jawans, have already left for Qatar.

Qatar and Italy also signed a deal last month on defence cooperation in preparation for the World Cup.

In July, The National reported that ex-Jordanian soldiers were being offered roles at the tournament.

Spain backed out last week, saying it would not send a planned 115 riot police officers to Qatar, with no reason given.

Extra help on the way

Morocco has also backed sending police reinforcements to Qatar, with local media reporting that several thousand officers could be deployed.

Last month, Reuters reported that Qatar has called up hundreds of civilians, including diplomats summoned back from overseas, to operate security checkpoints at World Cup stadiums, according to a source and documents seen by the news agency.

The conscripts are reportedly training to manage stadium security queues.

CCTV from all eight stadiums will be monitored at a command centre.

Last week, Qatar revealed the security force uniforms. Traffic officers will wear yellow, explosive experts have black trousers and green shirts and field stewards teal jackets. Other uniforms are mostly black, tailored for men and women.

The story of Edge

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.

It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.

Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.

Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab

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• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.

• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.

• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.

• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.

• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.

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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.”

World Cup 2022: Qatar draws in multi-nation security force for tournament

More than a dozen nations will help to police the 1.2 million fans expected to attend

Who is sending what?

Extra help on the way

The story of Edge

On Women's Day

The alternatives

While you're here

While you're here