Former Lebanese president Michel Aoun has denied that his surprise visit to Damascus on Tuesday was to seek the backing of Syria's President Bashar Al Assad.
Mr Aoun's media office issued a statement amid speculation that the founder of the Free Patriotic Movement was seeking Mr Al Assad's intervention in the Lebanese presidential election amid differences with its ally Hezbollah over the choice of candidates. Both the FPM and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group are aligned with Syria.
The former president “did not request a mediation or support for the position of the Free Patriotic Movement leader,” the statement said, emphasising Mr Aoun's dedication to Lebanon’s sovereignty.
“President Aoun's visit was strategic, about Syria and Lebanon's shared interests and the return of refugees to Syria, and it was not related to internal affairs,” an FPM representative told The National.
Lebanon's presidential post has remained vacant for seven months since Mr Aoun completed his term last year as parties and political blocs attempt to find a consensus candidate.
Hezbollah backs Suleiman Frangieh, leader of the Christian Marada Movement and known to be close to Damascus.
But the FPM has categorically refused to support Mr Frangieh, allying with opposition parties to back former finance minister Jihad Azour.
An electoral parliamentary session has been called for June 14.
Mr Aoun’s visit to Lebanon's war-torn neighbour was his first since 2009.
It followed Syria’s readmission to the Arab League last month, ending years of regional isolation over Mr Al Assad’s crackdown on domestic opposition to his rule in 2011 that led to a deadly and multifaceted civil war powered by international proxies.
“He has wanted to visit with Assad for years but couldn’t when he was president due to the international restrictions and the political implications,” a source close to Mr Aoun said.
The meeting between Mr Aoun and Mr Al Assad was shrouded in secrecy. Sources close to the former Lebanese president said their talks covered Syria’s return to Arab life, changes in the Middle East’s political landscape, and the Syrian refugees living in Lebanon.
Both countries are undergoing interlinked economic crises. Lebanon's economy collapsed in 2019 following years of financial mismanagement and corruption, while Syria has been affected by the destructive civil war and international war-related sanctions that have also affected Lebanon.
“The rise and prosperity of Syria will undoubtedly reflect well on Lebanon,” Mr Aoun’s media office said, acknowledging the conjoined nature of the two countries.
Mr Al Assad emphasised the importance of Lebanon’s political and economic stability, which is “in the interest of Syria and the region in general”.
Lebanon shares a complicated history with Syria, which wields influence over Lebanese politics. Lebanon’s parliamentary blocs are split according to their relationship with Syria: there is the pro-Hezbollah, Syria-aligned bloc, which includes Mr’s Aoun’s party, and a coalition of parties characterised by their opposition to Hezbollah and Syrian influence.
Syria was a warring proxy in Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war and maintained a military presence long after the war’s end.
Syria withdrew its military from Lebanon in 2005, but its occupation has left a sour association in the minds of many Lebanese. For others, the neighbouring country is viewed as a natural ally.
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Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
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Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
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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.”
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
