Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani held talks with his counterpart in Saudi Arabia and the kingdom's defence minister during the Syrian interim government's first international trip, as it seeks to build alliances and bolster its regional standing during a crucial transition period.
Countries in the region and beyond have reached out to the administration led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham chief Ahmad Al Shara since the group, once affiliated with Al Qaeda, led a rebel offensive that toppled president Bashar Al Assad on December 8.
“Through this first visit in the history of Free Syria, we aspire to open a new, bright page in Syrian-Saudi relations that befits the long shared history between the two countries,” Mr Al Shibani said on X as the Syrian delegation arrived in Riyadh on Thursday. He was accompanied by the Minister of Defence Murhaf Abu Qasra and the head of the General Intelligence Service, Anas Khattab.
Saudi Arabia severed ties with the Assad regime in 2012, as did other Arab states. But Riyadh restored relations last year and was instrumental in Syria's return to the Arab League, ending its regional isolation before the regime was toppled by the rebels last month.
Gulf countries had sought assurance from Mr Al Assad that Damascus would stop the flow of the drug Captagon from Syria. The amphetamine-like narcotic was Syria's most valuable export in the final years of his rule, with the value of the trade estimated at billions of dollars.
Syrian state media said Mr Al Shibani's visit to Saudi Arabia was at the invitation of Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. The delegation was received at Riyadh airport by Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed El Khereiji.
Prince Faisal assured Mr Al Shibani of the kingdom's support to ensure security and stability in Syria during their meeting, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.
Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said in a post on X that he had discussed with Mr Al Shibani how best to support Syria's political transition.
Last week, Mr Al Shara told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV channel that the kingdom “will certainly have a large role in Syria's future”, pointing to “a big investment opportunity for all neighbouring countries”.
Syria's economy and infrastructure have been devastated by more than 13 years of civil war that began with a crackdown on pro-democracy protests by Mr Al Assad's forces in 2011.
The foreign ministers of Egypt and Oman pledged support for Syria in phone calls with Mr Al Shibani this week, and the charge d'affaires of the EU mission, Michael Ohnmacht, held talks with the Foreign Minister in Damascus.
Meanwhile, preparations for Syria’s National Dialogue Conference are continuing and a date for the dialogue has yet to be set, three sources from Syria’s interim government told The National on Thursday. It was previously reported that the conference was set to take place between January 4 and 5.
“The announcement that the national dialogue conference was on that date was just talk,” Mohammad Al Faisal, a political affairs official in the interim government, clarified. “In reality, we have never officially announced a date.
“Preparations are still ongoing, but it’s a big conference that brings together various facets of Syrian society, so it will take time to put them together,” he added. “It will be sooner rather than later. It’s not clear when yet, but hopefully soon.”
Another political source hinted that the conference was likely to take place towards the end of January but declined to provide a date, saying only “preparations are ongoing and procedures must be put in place”.
The announcement of the conference last week followed statements by Syria's de facto leader, who said elections in Syria could take up to four years, and drafting a new constitution might take three years.
Local media reported that 1,200 Syrians would attend the event in personal capacities rather than as representatives of any political group. Additionally, 70 to 100 people from each governorate, representing all segments of society – including women and young people – will be invited to participate.
The conference could be the first pan-national gathering of Syria's political and sectarian groups after years of civil war. It will be a critical test of whether the new regime can fulfil its promise to unite the country in the post-Assad era.
In Homs city, Syrian security forces are conducting an operation, state media reported, with a monitor saying it focused on two districts that are home to the Alawite minority.
"The Ministry of Interior, in co-operation with the Military Operations Department, begins a wide-scale combing operation in the neighbourhoods of Homs city," state news agency Sana said, quoting a security official. It added that the targets were "war criminals and those involved in crimes who refused to hand over their weapons and go to the settlement centres", as well as "hidden ammunition and weapons".
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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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.”
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