A UN report has warned that despite the Taliban consolidating their grip on Afghanistan, terrorist groups still pose a “serious threat” within the country, the surrounding regions and beyond.
The report compiled by the UN's sanctions monitoring team said there is concern that Afghanistan will remain a source of insecurity for Central Asia and the region. It also questioned whether the Taliban can “address the many significant and continuing challenges”.
“The country continues to be perceived as a permissive or friendly territory by terrorist groups, which also aspire to project threats globally,” it read.
ISIS-Khorasan Province, the regional affiliate of the ISIS terrorist group, is the “greatest internal threat” within Afghanistan, the report said.
It also noted that ISIS-K has “successfully infiltrated” the Taliban's ministries of interior and defence, as well as the General Directorate of Intelligence.
According to the Afghanistan United Front (AUF) Intelligence Commission, the total number of ISIS-K members in Afghanistan has reached 9,000 and is rapidly increasing.
The group, which is focused on delegitimising the Taliban authorities, has acquired operational capabilities for suicide bombings, insurgency and assassinations, and are capable of launching assault operations on government installations or economic centres across the region.
Afghan citizens acting on behalf of ISIS-K are, according to the AUF, conducting attacks in Pakistan, Iran and Russia.
“The more the de facto authorities [Taliban] claim that foreign terrorists do not use its territory to threaten other member states, the more [ISIS-K] is determined to prove them wrong,” the report said, pointing to the group’s deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall in March.
The assessment presented to the 15-member Security Council also noted that Al Qaeda continues to thrive in Afghanistan, disseminating propaganda to increase recruitment while taking advantage of its long-term ties to the Taliban, despite its reduced low-profile.
It noted Al Qaeda remains “strategically patient”, co-operating with other terrorist groups in Afghanistan and “prioritising” its continuing relationship with the Taliban.
Sami Sadat, the head of the Afghanistan United Front organisation, told The National, that Al Qaeda is “currently transforming into a more conventional and political force as they also increase their recruitment while making more alliances with Iran and Taliban.”
While the Taliban have done much to constrain the activities of Al Qaeda and their affiliates, UN member states remarked that its reorganisation and training activities, as well as new travel into Afghanistan by “experienced instructors”, indicated that the group still uses Afghanistan as a “permissive haven”.
According to intelligence gathered by UN member states, Al Qaeda affiliates in the region have increased from 4,000 to 6,000 fighters and its operatives in the country remain active, engaging with warlords, propagandists, recruiters and financiers.
Taliban celebrate anniversary of withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan – in pictures
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
England squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ben White
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse
Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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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European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
