Britain and Germany are hoping to strike a defence deal within months as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer launches his European “reset” with trips to Berlin and Paris.
Mr Starmer met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with a message that Britain wants to “move beyond Brexit” with closer ties on business and security.
“We want to take this outstretched hand,” said Mr Scholz at the Chancellery in Berlin.
Diplomats have been given the responsibility of negotiating an Anglo-German treaty that will cover trade, security and energy, but is not expected to significantly relax migration rules.
Britain hopes a defence deal resembling the Lancaster House agreement between the UK and France will be signed as a first step this autumn.
The Anglo-French deal set up a 10,000-strong joint expeditionary force and provides for sharing of nuclear weapons expertise.
A UK-Germany pact would be created to “strengthen the links between our defence communities, industries and armed forces”, the sides said.
As part of the defence effort, Mr Starmer was expected to meet the chief executive of German defence giant Rheinmetall, which makes fighting vehicles for the British Army.
It is hoped closer ties will help strengthen the “European pillar” of Nato, said Mr Scholz, amid doubts over US assistance if Donald Trump returns to the White House after November's election.
Wider treaty talks on North Sea trade, clean energy, market access, technology and skills are expected to take about six months.
“Britain can advance its interests much more effectively when we work with friends and partners,” Mr Starmer said.
“This treaty is part of a wider reset, grounded in a new spirit of co-operation with our shared understanding that this will be developed at pace.”
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany's ceremonial head of state, said the two countries were “opening a new chapter” as he greeted Mr Starmer in Berlin. The two men discussed Ukraine and the Middle East, a spokeswoman said.
Relations have warmed since the depths of the Brexit negotiating saga, and visits to Berlin and Hamburg by King Charles III last year won widespread praise.
“Given the common challenges our two countries face, we are convinced that the time has come to take our bilateral relations to the next level,” a joint statement said.
Migration caution
However, Germany is likely to be disappointed on migration after lobbying for relaxed visa rules for under-thirties.
Free movement between the two countries ended when the UK left the EU in 2020, when Britain also left the Erasmus exchange programme for students.
Berlin has proposed a new youth scheme but any migration deal risks wading into tricky political waters in Britain, where open borders were the main grievance leading to Brexit.
Mr Starmer promised during Labour's election-winning campaign that there would be “no return” to freedom of movement or the EU single market.
However, there is interest in working together against illegal migration as both governments try to quell populist discontent.
Mr Steinmeier and Mr Starmer discussed recent acts of violence in Southport and Solingen that stirred anger over migration, a spokeswoman for the German president said.
“We must turn a corner on Brexit and fix the broken relationships left behind by the previous government,” Mr Starmer said.
“Strengthening our relationship with these countries is crucial, not only in tackling the global problem of illegal migration, but also in boosting economic growth across the continent and crucially in the UK.”
After his German trip, Mr Starmer will travel to Paris for the opening ceremony of the Paralympics on Wednesday evening.
He is scheduled to meet French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on Thursday and have a breakfast meeting with French business leaders.
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Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
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Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
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.”
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
