Jordan's King Abdullah calls Russia's presence in Syria 'a good thing'

King Abdullah of Jordan said Russian presence in Syria is a "good thing", repeating earlier assertions that Moscow's military intervention in the country seven years ago brought stability.

"We have seen the presence of the Russians in Syria as a good thing. They have been a source of stability," King Abdullah said in an interview with CNBC broadcast on Thursday.

Jordan, one of the biggest recipients of US aid, supported the 2015 Russian intervention that propped up the regime of Bashar Al Assad.

In August last year, King Abdullah met President Vladimir Putin near Moscow and praised Russia's contribution to stability in Syria, the main source of an illicit regional trade in Captagon.

Jordanian officials said last month that Syrian army units and militias supported by Iran are behind a sharp increase in Captagon smuggling over the border into Jordan and towards the Gulf. It was the first time that the kingdom publicly implicated Iran in the drug trade.

The more direct stance came days after King Abdullah said in Washington that he expects Iran to extend its influence into Syrian areas along the border with Jordan, as Russia focuses on its invasion of Ukraine.

"Since the [Ukraine] conflict started, there has been less of a Russian presence in Syria," King Abdullah told NBC.

"As a result, we've had more problems with shared militias creating problems on our borders, drug-smuggling and weapons smuggling. ISIS has arisen," he said.

"From the Jordanian point of view, they [Russia] were ... an essence of calm."

President Sheikh Mohamed meets King of Jordan in Abu Dhabi - in pictures

President Sheikh Mohamed receives King Abdullah II of Jordan in Abu Dhabi on June 23. All photos: Ministry of Presidential Affairs

Sheikh Mohamed and King Abdullah at Al Shati Palace.

Members of King Abdullah's delegation during a meeting.

Sheikh Mohamed and King Abdullah before their meeting at Al Shati Palace.

The leaders discussed increasing ties between the two countries.

Sheikh Mohamed and King Abdullah during their meeting.

From left, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed, National Security Adviser, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the President, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun, Private Affairs Adviser at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, at the meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan at Al Shati Palace.

He said pressure on supplies of commodities is another outcome of the Ukraine war that Jordan has been dealing with, but that countries in the region have been "coming together and saying how can we help each other?".

King Abdullah said he also favours more Arab military co-operation.

“I would be one of the first people that would endorse a Middle East Nato,” he said. “The mission statement has to be very, very clear. Otherwise, it confuses everybody,” he said.

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.”

The winners

Fiction

‘Amreekiya’ by Lena Mahmoud
‘As Good As True’ by Cheryl Reid

The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award

‘Syrian and Lebanese Patricios in Sao Paulo’ by Oswaldo Truzzi; translated by Ramon J Stern
‘The Sound of Listening’ by Philip Metres

The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award

‘Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance’ by Fady Joudah

Children/Young Adult

‘I’ve Loved You Since Forever’ by Hoda Kotb

6 UNDERGROUND

Director: Michael Bay

Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco

2.5 / 5 stars

On Women's Day

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

MATCH INFO

Tottenham 4 (Alli 51', Kane 50', 77'. Aurier 73')

Olympiakos 2 (El-Arabi 06', Semedo')

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Skoda Superb Specs

Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol

Power: 190hp

Torque: 320Nm

Price: From Dh147,000

Available: Now

The Ashes

Results
First Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 10 wickets
Second Test, Adelaide: Australia won by 120 runs
Third Test, Perth: Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
Fourth Test: Melbourne: Drawn
Fifth Test: Australia won by an innings and 123 runs

Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

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Pots for the Asian Qualifiers

Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka

Semi-final fixtures

Portugal v Chile, 7pm, today

Germany v Mexico, 7pm, tomorrow

Essentials

The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

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