Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have committed to allow the delivery of aid to millions of Sudanese affected by their six-month war.
But they did not agree to a ceasefire in negotiations sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the US.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said late on Tuesday night that the two sides agreed after nearly two weeks of negotiations in Jeddah to several confidence-building measures.
They included establishment of a means of communication between the two sides and toning down hostile speech to the media.
They have also agreed to take "steps against those who are stoking the conflict", in a thinly veiled reference to loyalists of the former regime of dictator Omar Al Bashir.
The two sides also agreed to apprehend those escaped from prison, who include key members of Al Bashir's regime.
The former dictator, who ruled the country for 29 years, was toppled in 2019.
The Sudan conflict errupted in April when differences between the army and RSF over Sudan's democratic transition reached a boiling point.
At the heart of their differences is the future role of the army in a civilian-led Sudan and the assimilation into the armed forces of the RSF, whose forerunner was the Darfur-based militia called the Janjaweed.
But six months after the fighting began, the war appears to be essentially a struggle for military and political supremacy between two generals: army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and his one-time ally and deputy Mohamed Dagalo, commander of the RSF.
The war has displaced nearly six million people, more than a million of whom found refuge in neighbouring countries.
At least 10,000 people have died and millions are trapped in the Sudanese capital, struggling to stay safe and cope with soaring food prices, and scarce fuel and health services.
"The mediators regret the failure by the two sides to agree on a ceasefire since there is no acceptable military solution to this conflict," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.
"The mediators urge the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces to put ahead the interests of the Sudanese people, put down their weapons and engage in negotiations to end this conflict."
Instead, the two sides agreed to work with the UN humanitarian agency Ocha to resolve blocks to humanitarian aid access, the ministry said.
Ceasefires mediated by the Saudis and Americans in the early stages of the war collapsed or were short-lived, with both sides apparently determined to fight on until victory.
Fighting in Sudan's restive Darfur region and the capital Khartoum has surged since the two sides reconvened last month for talks, which were also brokered by regional African bloc IGAD, in what appeared to be an attempt to gain an advantage in the Jeddah negotiations.
Refugees and witnesses arriving in Chad in recent days have accused the RSF of reviving bloody ethnic violence in the West Darfur town of El Geneina, which the paramilitary's fighters captured this week.
Last summer, hundreds of ethnic Africans in El Geneina were killed, reportedly in ethnically driven attacks blamed on the RSF and its local allies.
The International Criminal Court is investigating the allegations as possible war crimes.
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.”
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