Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati addresses the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. EPA
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati addresses the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. EPA
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati addresses the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. EPA
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati addresses the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. EPA

Najib Mikati raises Lebanon's Syrian refugee 'burden' at UN


Nada Maucourant Atallah
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  • Arabic

Lebanon is struggling to cope with the numbers of refugees from Syria's civil war and the crisis will have consequences far beyond its borders, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati told the UN General Assembly.

He called for a road map to a sustainable solution for the Syrian crisis before “its repercussions spiral out of control”.

“The negative repercussions of the Syrian displacement are deepening Lebanon’s crises, but Lebanon will not be the only victim,” Mr Mikati said at the 78th annual session of the General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

“The international community's response to this tragedy remains timid, falling short of an effective and sustainable solution.”

Lebanon hosts about 805,000 registered Syrian refugees, but the actual number living in the country is believed to be higher since it stopped registering new arrivals in 2015.

Mr Mikati said “Lebanon's very existence” was threatened by “the burden of successive waves of displacement”.

He attributed Lebanon's economic crisis, which erupted in 2019 after decades of corruption and mismanagement, to “frequent conflicts within its borders and with neighbouring countries, as well as wars of aggression”.

This culminated in a “prolonged occupation of part of its territories and two protracted refugee and displacement crises”, he said, referring to the past spells of Syrian and Israeli control over Lebanese territory, as well as the influx of Palestinian refugees following the creation of Israel in 1948.

Mr Mikati also addressed Lebanon's failure to elect a president for almost a year, which he said had led to “the exacerbation of the economic and financial crisis and the failure to launch the reforms and financial recovery plans on which the Lebanese depend to save the country”.

Lebanon has been without a president for 10 months and Mr Mikati's government has been functioning in a caretaker capacity since the general election in May last year.

The country has been unable to access international financial support because its politicians were unable to enact the reforms needed even before former president Michel Aoun's term expired at the end of October last year.

Mr Mikati expressed appreciation for the efforts of the Group of Five – France, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the US – and the “French initiative” to expedite the election of a president by parliament.

He also denounced Israel's “continued occupation of parts of our land in the south and its continuing aggression and violation of the Lebanese sovereignty”.

Tensions have escalated in recent months along the southern border with Israel, where the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), a peacekeeping contingent, is deployed.

Mr Mikati thanked all the countries contributing troops to Unifil, whose mandate, initiated in 1978, was renewed in August.

Focus on the presidency

The UN General Assembly has seen a series of meetings and interviews concerning the Lebanese presidential election.

Before leaving for New York, Mr Mikati told the French newspaper Le Figaro that “it would not be logical, or even reasonable, to elect a president who would antagonise Hezbollah”, Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed Shiite militia and political group.

The continuing presidential impasse stems from deep divisions between supporters of Hezbollah and its rivals, including the Christian-led Lebanese Forces, the largest party in parliament.

Mr Mikati kicked off his visit to New York on Monday with a meeting with Victoria Nuland, the US undersecretary of state for political affairs.

Ms Nuland said the US “supports any Lebanese-Lebanese dialogue” that could result in the election of a new president.

Representatives of the Group of Five held a meeting in New York on Tuesday to discuss Lebanon's presidential vacuum, amid reported divisions regarding the most suitable approach. The group did not issue a statement after the meeting.

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim said during his speech to the General Assembly that it was “regrettable that the suffering of the Lebanese people continues due to political calculations”.

He said “the danger now threatens the institutions of the state in Lebanon” and stressed “the need to find a solution to the presidential vacancy”.

France's special envoy to Lebanon, former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, visited the country last week for talks with the key players. He is scheduled to return in October.

A Qatari delegation is also expected to visit next month to discuss the issue of the presidency.

Winners

Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)

Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)

Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)

Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)

Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)

Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)

Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)

The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima


Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650

Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder

Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm

Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km

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Results

UAE beat Nigeria by five wickets

Hong Kong beat Canada by 32 runs

Friday fixtures

10am, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi – Ireland v Jersey

7.30pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi – Canada v Oman

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

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Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km

Price: Dh133,900

On sale: now 

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.”

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

Emergency phone numbers in the UAE

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

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Company profile

Company: Eighty6 

Date started: October 2021 

Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh 

Based: Dubai, UAE 

Sector: Hospitality 

Size: 25 employees 

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investment: $1 million 

Investors: Seed funding, angel investors  

Marathon results

Men:

 1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13 

2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50 

3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25 

4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46 

5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48  

Women:

1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30 

2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01 

3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30 

4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43 

5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01  

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Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier

Sunday's results:

  • UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
  • Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
  • Oman v Hong Kong, no result

Tuesday fixtures:

  • Malaysia v Singapore
  • UAE v Oman
  • Nepal v Hong Kong
Updated: September 21, 2023, 12:08 PM