King Abdullah II of Jordan receives Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, in Amman. Wam
King Abdullah II of Jordan receives Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, in Amman. Wam
King Abdullah II of Jordan receives Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, in Amman. Wam
King Abdullah II of Jordan receives Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, in Amman. Wam

UAE

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed meets King of Jordan in Amman

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation also held talks with Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s Foreign Minister

The National

November 10, 2021

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  • Arabic

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, held talks with the King of Jordan in Amman on Wednesday.

Sheikh Abdullah and King Abdullah II reviewed the long-standing ties between their nations during the meeting, held in the Jordanian capital.

Sheikh Abdullah shared the greetings of President Sheikh Khalifa, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to the monarch and expressed their best wishes for Jordan’s progress and prosperity.

King Abdullah reciprocated the greetings to the UAE leaders and his desire for the continued development and prosperity of the Emirates.

King Abdullah II of Jordan greets Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, in the Jordanian capital. Photo: Wam
King Abdullah II of Jordan greets Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, in the Jordanian capital. Photo: Wam

Sheikh Abdullah emphasised the solid fraternal ties binding the UAE and Jordan and highlighted the aspirations of the leadership of both countries to support the best interests of their people.

Khalifa Al Marar, Minister of State, and Ahmed Al Balushi, ambassador to Jordan, also attended the meeting.

Sheikh Abdullah also met Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.

The ministers discussed ways to further strengthen the partnership between their nations, with a focus on investment, the economy, tourism, culture and defence.

They reviewed a meeting between Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and King Abdullah in May, which was also aimed at bolstering the positive friendship enjoyed by the Middle East neighbours.

The pair also addressed several regional issues of mutual concern and underlined the importance of working together to overcome common challenges and achieve security and stability in the region.

Sheikh Abdullah extended his greetings and congratulations to Mr Safadi on the centenary of the founding of Jordan.

He said both countries strived to forge even closer links and hailed Jordan’s crucial role in supporting joint Arab action and achieving stability in the region.

Mr Safadi offered his congratulations to the UAE on its upcoming Golden Jubilee celebrations, and praised the success of Expo 2020 Dubai.

He thanked the UAE for helping Jordan to manage economic challenges and for its support of its citizens living in the Emirates.

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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Updated: November 11, 2021, 6:49 AM
Sheikh Abdullah bin ZayedKing Abdullah II