The summit of regional leaders with US President Joe Biden presents Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi with the opportunity to showcase his credentials to continue leading the country and cement its role as key player in the Middle East, experts say.
Saudi Arabia will host the meeting between Mr Biden, leaders of its fellow Gulf Co-operation Council members, and of Iraq, Egypt and Jordan, in Jeddah on Saturday, before the US president concludes his first visit to the region since taking office last year.
Mr Al Kadhimi is expected to hold separate talks with Mr Biden on Friday night.
“The summit is more significant for Prime Minister Al Kadhimi than for Iraq, per se, as it is an opportunity for Kadhimi to show that Iraq can be a top-level regional player with him at the head,” said Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute who studies Iraq's military and security.
“If another premier were leading it is unlikely Iraq would be given an invitation to Jeddah,” Mr Knights told The National.
Mr Al Kadhimi wrote in an op-ed for Foreign Policy magazine this week that he would represent a "resilient Iraq" to the region and the US.
His participation bolsters his prospects of remaining in office beyond his current caretaker status, with Iraqi political factions in a deadlock over formation of a new government after a general election in October. It also continues Baghdad's participation in regional discussions that are crucial for Iraq.
"It is also designed to encourage any possible successor to continue the same policies of balancing Iraq between Iranian and US pressure and finding ways of reintegrating Iraq into the Arab world," said Hussein Ibish, an academic at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
Ties between Iraq and the region must be strengthened to help Baghdad "revitalise and rebuild Iraqi-Jordanian economic, diplomatic and political ties and, ultimately, revive the Iraqi-Jordanian-Egyptian triangle in the Middle East and in the Arab world", Mr Ibish told The National.
This would be extremely beneficial to all parties except Iran, Mr Ibish said.
Sajad Jiyad, a fellow at the Century Foundation in New York, said Baghdad's participation in the summit provides it with a “say in some of the negotiations that are going on concerning the region”.
“Iraq is an important state to the region and so its participation in regional summits like this one will give it a say in its future and making it clear what are the challenges it faces,” he said.
Baghdad has good relations with Iran and so it does not want Saudi Arabia, US and others to negatively impact their ties, Mr Jiyad said.
“It does not want to be destabilised by the impact of deteriorating relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia or Iran and the US,” he said.
"Mr Al Kadhimi was recently in Saudi Arabia and Iran so I’m sure there are some messages he wishes to convey to the region."
Mr Jiyad said economic co-operation would be at the top of Mr Al Kadhimi’s agenda, with many projects put forward between Baghdad and Gulf states but little progress so far.
Improved ties with Riyadh
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq have improved rapidly since Mr Al Kadhimi took office in May 2019.
"Saudi leaders know Al Kadhimi well from his period as head of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service. Aramco has, for the first time, seriously looked into investing in Iraq, and Saudi Arabia is readying to give Baghdad cheap electricity and new trade advantages," Mr Knights said.
However, this momentum might be lost under a new government, he said.
"These ties are fragile, however, and probably cannot survive a major change in the leadership in Iraq," Mr Knights said.
Ties between Saudi Arabia and Iraq were cut after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and restored only in 2015, when the kingdom reopened its embassy in Baghdad.
Concerns remain over the rise of Iran-backed political groups following the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam.
"Saudi Arabia came to view Iraq as an incorrigible, hopeless vassal state of Iran, totally overrun by pro-Iranian militias and dominated by Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," Mr Ibish said.
He said Baghdad's ties with Riyadh are crucial and Mr Al Kadhimi must succeed in portraying Iraq as an independent state free of Iranian domination.
"The biggest challenge for Iraqi-Saudi relations from Baghdad's perspective should be, and probably is, how to convince Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries that Iraq is a net benefit and will not ultimately prove to be little more than a useful weapon for Tehran in some form or another," 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.”
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
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Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh130,000
On sale: now
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
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FLIP%204
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The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
