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Jordan's King Abdullah discusses Syrian refugees with Spain's PM

King and Pedro Sanchez say 'favourable conditions' must be in place before Syrians can return safely to their homeland

The National

June 19, 2023

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Jordan's King Abdullah II and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday that “favourable conditions” must exist before Syrian refugees can return to their homeland, following a meeting between the two leaders in Madrid.

The King, who is being accompanied by Queen Rania, arrived to Madrid on Sunday.

The couple were guests at a lunch on Monday hosted by King Filipe and Queen Letizia.

Jordan hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who mostly fled areas in central and southern Syria, the birthplace of the 2011 revolt against President Bashar Al Assad.

The kingdom closed its border to Syrian refugees in 2014 as militants came to dominate the rebellion, which had become a brutal civil war.

Spain has some Syrian refugees, but their numbers are small, in contrast to mass migration to Turkey and other parts of Europe.

A joint communique said Jordan and Spain had “agreed on the importance of providing the favourable circumstances for the safe and voluntary return” of Syrian refugees in a way that “would preserve their dignity”.

It said Spain, in co-ordination with Jordan, would “continue supporting Syrians who were forced to flee their homes, and preserve their basic rights and help them reach long term solutions”.

The statement “affirmed the need to intensify the efforts for a political solution, based on UN Resolution 2254".

The resolution, passed in 2015, calls for an undefined political transition for the Syrian civil war and the release of prisoners as well as other measures designed to curb authoritarian rule and UN-designated terrorist groups in the country.

On the occasion of the King's visit, Spanish and Jordanian officials signed agreements to co-operate in the judicial sector and recognise maritime certificates issued by the two countries.

The meeting of the monarchs came after King Filipe's father and mother, the former king Juan Carlos and the former queen Sophia, attended the wedding of King Abdullah's son, Crown Prince Hussein, in Amman at the beginning of this month.

Jordan, whose income per head was $4,100 in 2021, is dependent on international aid, which is mainly provided by the US.

But the kingdom also receives significant support from European countries, including money for local communities where Syrian refugees live.

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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.”

Updated: June 20, 2023, 10:19 AM
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