The signing of the Abraham Accords was a beacon of hope for the Middle East in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UAE’s chief rabbi has said.
Yehuda Sarna spoke to The National after creating a special prayer to mark the first anniversary of the historic accords between the UAE and Israel.
The prayer has been shared with more than 1,000 synagogues around the world before the first anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords on August 13.
Rabbi Sarna said the benediction was for the whole Middle East region, and focused on shared blessings including “empowered youth, good health and blooming deserts”.
“For so many people the signing of the Abraham Accords was the silver lining of 2020, a year of so much suffering and isolation,” he said.
“It absolutely lifted so many people up in a difficult year.”
Rabbi Sarna said the positive effects the accords had on international relations could not be overestimated.
“For many, many people the Abraham Accords came out of nowhere,” he said.
“Many Jews around the world did not know about the UAE and its deep history of religious tolerance, nor did they know about the organic emergence of the Jewish community in the UAE.”
He estimated there was a community of close to 1,000 Jewish people living across the Emirates, and next year they will have a new house of worship, with a new synagogue being built as part of the Abrahamic House project on Saadiyat Island.
The project includes a church, synagogue and mosque on one plot – another sign of the culture of openness and tolerance in the UAE, he said.
Changing perceptions in Israel
Shortly after the signing of the peace accord last year, commercial flights between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi started – one of many measures normalising relations.
Rabbi Sarna said the influx of Israeli visitors to the UAE, despite the pandemic, showed attitudes were beginning to change.
“Over the past year, an increasing number of Jews all over the world have begun to feel differently about the relationship between Jews and Arabs,” he said.
“The kind of openness and hospitality that hundreds of thousands of Jewish visitors to the UAE have experienced has absolutely transformed their notion of the Arabic world.
“There previously had been a perception of Arabs, shaped by western media and Hollywood.
“However, the experience of visiting the UAE has transformed the possibility of resetting the conversation between Jews and Arabs worldwide.”
He said he hoped his prayer would help to highlight the shared aspirations that Arabs and Jews had for the Middle East.
“We are very excited to celebrate the first anniversary with the rest of the region, and prayer is one way we can do that,” Rabbi Sarna said.
“Our community has had the opportunity to host many Emiratis for Shabbat over the last year and we have had dynamic conversations about our commonalities and what unites us. This prayer furthers that.”
RESULTS
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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.”
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Persuasion
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Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
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