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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has hailed the success of his country’s peace agreement with Israel, describing it as a "model to be followed" despite the rising tension between the two countries.
“History bears witness that the peace between Egypt and Israel, which was achieved through American mediation, is a model to be followed in ending conflicts and cycles of revenge,” Mr El Sisi said on Sinai Liberation Day on Friday.
“Today, we speak with one voice: just peace is the option that everyone should strive for.”
After months of simmering tension, Egypt's relations with Israel are deteriorating. Distrust has been fuelled by US proposals to resettle Palestinians in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and claims that Cairo may be building its military forces near the border with Israel in preparation for war.
Egypt's recent arms purchases, including an advanced Chinese-made air defence system, is contributing to the heightened tension, sources told The National this week.
Meanwhile, Israeli media has sounded the alarm over Egypt's military build-up and raised questions about Cairo's intentions.
Relations between the neighbours have been tense since the Gaza war between Hamas and Israel broke out in October 2023.
That tension was heightened significantly in May 2024 when Israel seized the strip of land that runs along Egypt's border with Gaza on the Palestinian side. It was a move that angered Cairo, which claimed it was a serious breach of the 1979 peace treaty and subsequent accords.
Tension spiked again when Israel embraced and began to act upon a proposal made in January by US President Donald Trump to resettle Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians in Egypt and Jordan and for Washington to take over the enclave on the east Mediterranean coast and turn it into a glitzy resort.
The leaders of Egypt and Israel have not spoken directly about the deterioration in relations.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has, according to sources, leaked its growing concern to media outlets about Egypt's military build-up in the Sinai Peninsula.
In his remarks on Friday, Mr El Sisi urged international powers, especially the US, to recommit to peacemaking efforts. He was speaking ahead of Mr Trump's trip to the Gulf next month.
“We look forward to the international community, led by the United States, and President Trump in particular, playing the role expected of it in this regard,” Mr El Sisi said.
The Egypt-Israel peace accord, signed in Washington in 1979 by then-President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, remains the longest-standing Arab-Israeli peace agreement.
It ended decades of war between the nations and set a precedent for future deals, including Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel in 1994 and the Abraham Accords in 2020.
Match info
Wolves 0
Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')
Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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FINAL RESULT
Sharjah Wanderers 20 Dubai Tigers 25 (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries: Gormley, Penalty
cons: Flaherty
Pens: Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries: O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons: Caldwell 2
Pens: Caldwell, Cross
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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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Fixtures and results:
Wed, Aug 29:
- Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
- Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
- UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs
Thu, Aug 30:
- UAE bt Nepal by 78 runs
- Hong Kong bt Singapore by 5 wickets
- Oman bt Malaysia by 2 wickets
Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore
Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu, Sep 6: Final
