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The UAE, which this week established a major new aid agency, is stepping up humanitarian efforts to “fill gaps” left behind by the US, particularly in Gaza, a former Pentagon official told The National.
Elizabeth Dent, former director for the Gulf at the US Office of the Secretary of Defence said this comes as an even smaller role is expected to be played by the Trump administration in the Middle East.
“There’s been a recent trend in US foreign policy for the US government to disentangle itself from the region to focus domestically, and the election of Donald Trump appears to have solidified that view,” said Ms Dent, now a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“Arab partners are looking to find ways to fill the gaps that the US may leave, particularly as Trump is expected to ask partners in the region to do more.”
On Monday, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, Dr Anwar Gargash said that humanitarian considerations should “no longer be an afterthought in the face of political upheaval”.
“Instead, they must be integrated into the fabric of decision-making processes, and it is critical that the lives of people should become the primary driver,” he said at the opening ceremony of the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate. Hours later, Sheikh Mohamed issued a decree establishing the UAE Aid Agency to plan, oversee and execute disaster relief and recovery programmes.
Ms Dent, who left her position in May, said the US has not played the “linchpin primary co-ordination” role in getting humanitarian aid into Gaza though it has been diplomatically involved in pressuring Israel to allow aid in and building a pier to bring in supplies by sea.
Last month, the US gave Israel 30 days to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza where the UN and other international organisations had warned that a famine was taking place, and the wounded are dying from a lack of medical care in the absence of supplies.
Ms Dent said the establishment of the relief agency appears to indicate that the UAE is looking to ensure that a mechanism for aid distribution will still exist once a ceasefire is reached in the enclave.
“This could also help drum up support from other Arab countries, as the UAE Aid Agency could operate as a trusted mechanism to get aid in,” she said.
With two months until Mr Trump's administration is in place, Ms Dent said the UAE is signalling that it will prioritise the humanitarian aspect for Arab partners in the region and “ensuring that once the conflict ends, as the Trump administration is keen on doing, humanitarian assistance will be a centrepiece for foreign policy”.
Senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Hasan Al Hasan told The National that humanitarian aid has always been a “feature” of UAE foreign policy.
The UAE is currently active in Gaza, having established a field hospital in Rafah last year, where about 50,000 people have been treated so far. The UAE has also created a floating hospital in Egypt's Al Arish where more than 5,000 Gazans have been given medical care, surgeries and an outpatient clinic. The Emirates has also provided prosthetics and artificial limbs for Gazan amputees who have been injured in the war and sent 736.25 tonnes of medical aid to Gaza.
Hundreds of Gazans have also been evacuated to the UAE for free treatment and the country has contributed to the polio vaccination campaign in collaboration with the World Health Organisation to immunise 640,000 children against the disease which was reported in the enclave this year, 25 years after it was eradicated.
Mr Al Hasan also said the UAE understands that humanitarian consequences of conflict are not a “side effect” and can end up exacerbating and spilling wars over.
Additionally, this direction cannot only bring greater financial contribution to humanitarian institutions but also become an “important factor when attempting to mediate and broker ceasefires,” Mr Al Hasan said. The UAE is also planning for a “day after” scenario in conflict zones, he said.
Dr Gargash also said that militias and private armies in the region “must no longer be tolerated”, placing greater importance on supporting national states and institutions.
“Humanitarian considerations can also inform the ways in which states address conflicts that involve non-state actors,” Mr Al Hasan said – as designating them a terrorist organisation could impact the delivery of humanitarian aid under their control.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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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.”
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
What can victims do?
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Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Transmission Continuously variable transmission
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Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
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Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
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