President Sheikh Mohamed and Jordan's King Abdullah II rejected any plans by Israel to annex the West Bank or any other parts of occupied Palestinian territory during talks in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The leaders said that such settlement expansion measures would undermine the long-proposed two-state solution to the raging conflict and would “pose a threat to regional peace, security, and stability”, state news agency Wam reported.
Sheikh Mohamed and King Abdullah set out their opposition to Israeli statements and positions that constitute a threat to the sovereignty of countries in the region.
They underlined their support for Gaza during discussions at Qasr Al Shati in Abu Dhabi, at the start of the Jordanian monarch's working visit to the Emirates.
The UAE had said on Wednesday that annexation of the occupied West Bank would constitute a red line for the country and undermine the vision and spirit of the Abraham Accords.
Far-right 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 Judea and Samaria”.
Israel has taken other steps in recent weeks that undermine the prospect of a Palestinian state, in particular approving construction of E1 – an illegal settlement with thousands of homes near Jerusalem.
Sheikh Mohamed and King Abdullah also explored ways to bolster co-operation between their countries during the high-level gathering.
The meeting was attended by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court; Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed; Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad, Adviser to the UAE President; Ali Al Shamsi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for National Security; Humaid Abu Shabas, Chairman of the UAE Accountability Authority; Dr Ahmed Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the President’s Office for Strategic Affairs and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, along with several senior officials.
King Abdullah was joined by Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah; Prime Minister Jafar Hassan; Ayman Al Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, and a number of top officials.
Sheikh Mohamed later bade farewell to King Abdullah at Al Bateen Airport as he concluded his trip.
Sheikh Mohamed and King Abdullah meet regularly in support of long-standing ties between the nations and to review key regional issues.
In March, the two leaders held high-level talks at Al Bateen Palace focused on efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and boost the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
A comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the countries, which came into effect in May, is set to further strengthen deep-rooted links.
The Cepa, initially signed in October, will eliminate or reduce tariffs, remove trade barriers and boost market access, and marks a “new era of collaboration”, said Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, in a statement at the time.
LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
RESULTS
6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
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.”
