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UAE and Saudi leaders in 'harmony' on regional issues, says Dr Gargash

Two countries are working together to promote stability in 'exceptional circumstances'

The National

September 04, 2025

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The meeting between UAE President Sheikh Mohamed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh was marked by harmony regarding regional issues, a senior Emirati official said on Thursday.

The statement by Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the President, came after the UAE warned Israel that annexation of the occupied West Bank would constitute a red line and undermine the vision and spirit of the Abraham Accords.

During the high-level talks in Riyadh on Wednesday, Sheikh Mohamed and Prince Mohammed discussed the situation in Palestine and emphasised the need to forge a path to peace based on the two-state solution, state news agency Wam reported.

“The meeting was marked by harmony in ideas and positions regarding regional issues,” Dr Gargash wrote on X. “The sisterly kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are working together to promote peace and stability in exceptional circumstances, with continuous co-ordination and consultation serving as a fundamental pillar for establishing a shared vision towards a more stable future for the region."

On the same day of the visit, the UAE issued one of the toughest condemnations of Israeli actions in Palestine since the Gaza war started in 2023.

“Annexation of the West Bank would constitute a red line for the UAE,” said Lana Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister for Political Affairs and Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. “It would severely undermine the vision and spirit of [the Abraham] Accords, end the pursuit of regional integration and would alter the widely shared consensus on what the trajectory of this conflict should be – two states living side by side in peace, prosperity and security.”

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday presented a plan to annex the majority of the West Bank, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “make a historic decision to apply Israeli sovereignty to all open areas” in the territory.

Israel has taken other steps in recent weeks that undermine the prospect of a Palestinian state, in particular approving the construction of E1 – an illegal settlement with thousands of homes near Jerusalem.

“We call on the Israeli government to suspend these plans. Extremists, of any kind, cannot be allowed to dictate the region’s trajectory. Peace requires courage, persistence and a refusal to let violence define our choices,” Ms Nusseibeh said.

Saudi Arabia has said it will not establish relations with Israel unless a Palestinian state is created and the war in Gaza ends.

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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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Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')

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Inter Milan 0

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Polarised public

31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

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What is the FNC?

The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning. 
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval. 
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
 

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Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks. 

“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.

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Updated: September 04, 2025, 10:10 AM