Last week, as the world was grappling with the assault on the world’s most powerful democracy in Washington, a quiet milestone was reached just north of the US border. Canada appointed Omar Alghabra, an immigrant of Arab origin, as its transport minister.
Born in Saudi Arabia to a Syrian family who arrived in Canada in 1989 to study engineering, the new minister has spent the last 15 years in politics, as an MP for Mississauga, a city neighbouring Toronto, as well as in various official roles in the federal government. He was also a top aide to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, serving as his parliament secretary.
It has been a difficult half-decade for those of us who believe that the way forward in the world is to embrace the rich tapestry of our societies, rather than take refuge in small-minded nationalism and xenophobia. The rise of the far right, exacerbated in North America during the Donald Trump administration and throughout Europe in the wake of the refugee crisis, created a new, protectionist normal. So it’s important to celebrate the wins for openness and tolerance when they happen.
Mr Alghabra’s portfolio is one riddled with challenges, chief among them how to safely revive the airline industry after the pandemic, with travel restrictions upending carriers and leading to huge job losses. Over the holidays, dozens of flights arriving in various ports in Canada have been flagged as having at least one passenger onboard who was infected with coronavirus. Rules to allow the resumption of flights safely with new testing requirements, as well as a plan to protect the industry from collapse, will be high on Mr Alghabra’s agenda.
But together with the arduous task is what his appointment signifies – that newcomers are not just welcome, but that it is possible to serve at the highest levels regardless of creed or ethnicity.
There are, of course, obstacles along the road. Mr Alghabra’s appointment was met with shameful dog whistles from the Bloc Quebecois, one of the largest parties in Parliament that often embodies Quebec nationalist values. In a statement that managed to convey cravenness, xenophobia and fecklessness all at once, the Bloc’s chief issued a statement questioning Mr Alghabra’s alleged proximity to political Islamists because he once headed the Canadian Arab Federation, a collective promoting the interests of Arab-Canadians. The Bloc’s chief, Yves-Francois Blanchet, said that “questions arise” about the minister because of his previous role, without bothering to make specific allegations. When pressed, he followed up with a nonsensical argument that his questions were legitimate and were made out of a concern for the separation of church and state.
It's been a difficult half-decade for those who believe the way forward is to embrace the rich tapestry of our societies
Mr Blanchet’s insinuations were especially troubling given the apparent consequences of the persistent othering of those who do not fit the perceived mould of what it means to be part of Western society, whether it is American or European or Canadian, which for xenophobes in these places often means a person who isn’t white. That a statement like that was published in the immediate aftermath of the Capitol riots in the US reinforces the idea that this kind of rhetoric is here to stay, and that some politicians will happily stoke the embers of division if they think it will win them a few more votes. It’s disheartening that it happened so soon after so much hatred was unleashed in Washington.
But enough of Mr Blanchet’s nonsense. I prefer to turn to the words of Mr Alghabra himself. A little over a year ago, in the Before Times when we worried about more pedestrian things, I interviewed him for an article about Syrians in Canada. Many were newly eligible for citizenship after arriving under a Trudeau government initiative offering resettlement for tens of thousands of Syrians who fled the war that began in 2015, and Mr Alghabra was one of the Canadian officials who went to meet the newcomers.
I asked him about what it meant to be Canadian, and he made the case for diversity in society. Newcomers, he argued, were in fact among the most patriotic constituents he’d ever seen, precisely because they they have a unique sense of the opportunities being in Canada presents them with, and the totality of their rights here after they might have fled conflict, persecution or poverty abroad.
“The opponents of this argument will say that all this diversity fragments us and disunites us, and it’s much better that we all rally around one set of values and one set of identities, but it never works,” he said. “You’re forcing people to hide who they really are. Diversity is merely a recognition of the fact; it’s not a manufactured thing. It’s a reflection of who we are. You can look the other way and pretend that we’re not diverse or you can come to terms with the fact that we’re diverse and come up with ideas of how we can embrace and harness it, rather than pretend that it doesn’t exist or weakens us.”
It is sad that we don’t have more people like Mr Alghabra running things in the Middle East. But there is the promise of his rise, that such things are possible no matter where fate decreed you were born.
Kareem Shaheen is a veteran Middle East correspondent in Canada and a columnist for The National
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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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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
