One morning, many years ago, before Abu Dhabi’s eastern Corniche was built and before the marine channel was dredged all the way from the Eastern Mangroves hotel to the Sea Palace, I wandered at low tide across the mud into the mangroves that lay beyond. There I found scuttling crabs, western reef herons, honeycombs and a variety of other delights. What a marvellous place, I thought. It should, obviously, be designated as a protected area.
That afternoon, I mentioned the trip to a high-ranking person. Early the next morning, he phoned me. He had told Sheikh Zayed the previous night and the late President had said he wanted to know more. In particular he wanted to see a picture of the honeycombs.
My friend and I went back and I took a picture, which was shown to Sheikh Zayed that evening. He immediately ordered that the Eastern Mangroves should be protected, as they remain today.
The incident gave me a confidence that I have never lost that if there is a way of getting a sensible proposal put before senior officials, there’s a reasonable chance of having it adopted. At the very least, it will be considered. That’s the way of the world here.
There are many techniques for lobbying those in power, these differing from country to country.
Here in the UAE, a quiet word in someone’s ear is traditionally more effective than a public poster parade or an intemperate outburst. Another part of the process, of course, is use of the media.
“It is the duty and the right of the press to criticise,” Sheikh Zayed once said. “We welcome constructive criticism because we want to build our country … All of us are partners in opinion, policy planning preparation and implementation.”
I was reminded of those words on Sunday when I read The National’s story that hybrid street signs, giving numbers as well as names, were once again appearing all over Abu Dhabi.
Almost a year ago, in this column, I welcomed the decision to introduce new street names for the capital but, at the same time, bewailed the removal of the old numbering system that made it so easy to get around on Abu Dhabi's grid system.
“Was it really necessary,” I asked, “to cancel the numbering of the roads? I hate to think of the number of working hours that will be wasted as people try to find their way around, let alone the frayed tempers and raised blood pressure levels that will result. It’s not too late, surely, to ask the authorities to reinsert the numbers on the street signs.”
I received an unusually large number of favourable comments. Obviously others were as frustrated as I.
One friend asked, however, whether I was aware that the decision to introduce the new system had been taken at a very high level?
Well yes, I suppose I was, though I hadn’t given it much thought. It just seemed to me that I was raising a point that could be – ought to be – taken into consideration.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only person to make the suggestion of reintroducing street numbers and I doubt very much that my comment had any effect whatsoever on the decision to do so.
The fact that they have reappeared, however, has reaffirmed my belief that there is not only the scope for suggestions to be put forward, but also the need to do so.
Abu Dhabi, and the rest of the UAE, is still in many respects very much a work in progress. Much needs to be done if we are to reach the standards of excellence and innovation to which the country aspires.
There’s room for all to contribute to the debate on how to achieve our goals, even on issues as small as protecting mangroves or on street numbers.
Now, what other suggestions come to mind?
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
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.”
