The US and Iraq agreed on Saturday to increase security ties in order to eliminate a potential ISIS comeback.
The agreement was announced in a joint statement issued after talks between US President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi in Jeddah, where Saudi Arabia is hosting a summit that brings together leaders of the US, GCC states, Iraq, Egypt and Jordan.
“The two leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to the strong bilateral partnership under the Strategic Framework Agreement and their determination to continue security coordination to ensure that ISIS can never resurge," the statement said.
The agreement signed in 2008 outlines the basis of relations between the US and Iraq, where there are currently about 2,500 American troops operating alongside several smaller contingents from other countries to train Iraqi forces in the continuing fight against the remnants of ISIS following the defeat of the extremist group in 2017.
“The leaders agreed that the relationship between the US and Iraq is based on a shared interest in Iraq’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, security, and stability and committed to bolstering the bilateral partnership for the benefit of their two nations,” said the statement.
It said Mr Biden and Mr Al Kadhimi discussed a range of regional issues including security, the challenges Iran poses to the region, and energy.
Iran-Saudi talks
Mr Biden welcomed Iraq's initiative to bring Saudi Arabia and Iran together for talks in Baghdad.
"The president expressed his appreciation for the Prime Minister’s forward-thinking diplomacy in the interest of a safer, more stable region," the statement said.
Baghdad has hosted five rounds of direct talks between Iranian and Saudi officials since Mr Biden took office.
Riyadh severed ties with Tehran in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in the Iranian capital following the execution of a Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia.
Iraq has the strongest ties to Iran of all the Arab countries and its presence at the Saudi summit reflects the support of Washington to bring Iraq closer to the region.
Baghdad, over the years, has found itself "in the middle of a regional power competition", Lahib Higel, a senior Iraq analyst at the International Crisis Group, told The National.
“Its internal stability depends on better relations between its neighbouring countries,” she said.
Mr Biden "commended the Baghdad Summit [that hosted regional leaders last summer], and the unique relationship between Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt, which the United States stands ready to support," the statement said.
On his part, Mr Al Kadhimi stressed his commitment to pursuing initiatives to bring Iraq’s neighbours and friends together to find home-grown solutions for regional challenges and to achieve sustainable stability.
Prior to meeting Mr Biden, the Iraqi premier said he intended to keep up Baghdad's role of hosting talks between its two Middle East neighbours whose rivalry has often played out in Iraq, leading to political paralysis.
“Iraq contributed to the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement, and several sessions held were successful and fruitful, and a great rapprochement took place,” he told The Associated Press.
He said Baghdad would continue to encourage dialogue between the two sides.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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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.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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