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Iraq's government says it has not received a request from Hamas to move its political leadership to Iraq from Qatar, two days after the US warned governments not to offer shelter to the Palestinian group.
An adviser to the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani told The National that there is no Hamas office in Baghdad, and that the government had not received a request for one to be opened.
“We categorically deny the reports of opening or the presence of an office for [the] Hamas movement,” Fadi Al Shammari said in a brief statement sent by his office.
Sources told The National this week that Hamas was looking to move its leaders to Iraq as Washington and Doha increase pressure to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war, with negotiations deadlocked.
The sources said that Hamas had already opened a representative office in Baghdad, and that the Iraqi government had approved a request to host its leadership. Iranian-linked militias and political parties in Iraq had also publicly congratulated Hamas for opening an office in the country and released images of a visit from a representative of the group.
Hamas discussed its plans to leave Qatar with Tehran in March, when the group's political leader Ismail Haniyeh met Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sources told The National on Tuesday.
Hamas's leaders in Qatar, where they have lived since 2012, considered an offer to relocate to Turkey, before deciding on Iraq, the sources said.
“Iraq was preferred over Turkey for two reasons – it's an Arab country and it enjoys close relations with Iran,” one of the sources said.
On Monday, they said Baghdad had welcomed the idea of Hamas maintaining a high-profile presence in Iraq. But the group had not said when the move would happen.
Hamas security and logistics teams had travelled to Baghdad to oversee preparations for the move, the sources said, adding that the group planned to retain some form of representation in Doha to oversee relations with Qatar.
US warnings
The Iraqi government's denial of the move came two days after the US warned governments in the region against dealing with Hamas.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday: “We have made clear to every government in the region that there should be no more business as usual with Hamas after the horrific attacks of October 7.
“And that applies to everyone,” he added, responding to a question during a briefing about Hamas's plans to move to Iraq.
At Tuesday’s briefing, Mr Miller repeated the same warning, adding: “We would hope no country would provide a safe haven for Hamas.”
Asked whether the American administration received any signs or indications from the Iraqi government in this regard, he replied: “I’m just not going to speak to private diplomatic conversations.”
Mixed messages
Mr Al Shammari’s comments contradict those made by Iran-backed political factions and militias in Iraq, suggesting differences with the government.
Since early June, Hamas representative Mohammed Al Hafy has attended several events organised by Iran-linked political factions and has held meetings with some politicians in Iraq, according to several statements from the Iran-backed groups.
On June 4, Jawad Raheem Al Saiedi, the Secretary General of the Iran-linked party The Movement of Building and Jihad, met Mr Al Hafy and congratulated him “on the occasion of opening Hamas movement office in Baghdad”, the party said in a statement.
Four days later, Mr Al Hafy attended a symposium on the 35th anniversary of the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, organised by The Movement of Building and Jihad, another statement from the party said.
Along with Mr Al Hafy, the event was attended by the Iranian ambassador, representatives of the Russian and Chinese embassies, Iraqi lawmakers and members of the Iran-linked Popular Mobilisation Forces militia, the statement added.
On June 11, a delegation from Harakat Al Iraq Al Islamiyah, or The Movement of the Islamic Iraq party, led by its Deputy Secretary General Yacoub Al Zaidi, announced in a statement that it “attended the opening [ceremony] of the political wing of Hamas movement in Iraq”.
It said the ceremony was in Baghdad but gave no further details.
The group added that they had met with Mr Al Hafy and discussed the situation in Gaza. The powerful Iran-backed Kataib Al Imam Ali militia, the Imam Ali Brigades, is the armed wing of The Movement of the Islamic Iraq.
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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.”
