UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi was overjoyed after receiving a surprise call from his father on Thursday.
Dr Al Neyadi has been serving the Arab world’s longest mission in space since March and is due to return in a few weeks.
His father, Saif Al Neyadi, spoke to him briefly during a live call the astronaut held from the International Space Station, with space enthusiasts gathered at Louvre Abu Dhabi.
The call was part of Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre's 'A Call from Space' initiative, which has been attended by nearly 10,000 people so far.
“Hello, Sultan. I’m very happy with this call,” Saif Al Neyadi said.
“I’m attending the first call because of some circumstances but your family are all proud of you and I wish you the best of luck.
“We pray that you come home safely with your head held high and your flag held even higher.”
Dr Al Neyadi was excited to hear his father's voice.
He had attended Dr Al Neyadi's launch in Florida and had written a heartfelt poem for him before he blasted off into space.
However, communication between the two has been limited since Dr Al Neyadi's arrived in space owing to his jam-packed schedule.
“This is a beautiful surprise. I hope you and everyone at home are doing well,” Dr Al Neyadi said.
Although contact with his parents has been limited, the father of six has been holding calls with his wife and children.
He said during his birthday in May that he missed his mother's cooking.
Creating opportunities for others
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, also attended the live call.
He told Dr Al Neyadi that his mission will help create opportunities for the youth.
“We are very proud of you that you are the man with the longest mission in Arab history,” he said.
“Your name has become very well known. There's no doubt that your experience will create new opportunities for youth and create interest in science, technologies and the world of exploration.”
Pupils asked the astronaut some questions, including one on whether there could be an Arab space station one day.
Dr Al Neyadi replied that the UAE could get involved in the Lunar Gateway – a small station that Nasa and its international partners are planning to build in the Moon's orbit.
“The UAE might play a role in the Gateway. Anything is possible,” he said.
The National previously reported that the UAE was exploring ways becoming involved, particularly in contributing an airlock on the station.
If the Emirates does secure a deal, it could help the country's space programme take giant leaps, including easier access for Emirati astronauts on future flights to the Moon.
One pupil asked Dr Al Neyadi how he would get his immunity levels back to normal once he returns from space.
“On the ISS, we are exposed to doses of X-rays,” he said.
“We are exposed to radiation 10 times more. We have a device that measures the radiation so we don’t exceed a certain limit.”
Another pupil asked him if his perspective of outer space had changed since arriving at the station.
Dr Al Neyadi said that he has started to appreciate Earth and its nature more.
“Oxygen on Earth is free. Sunlight and everything are taken for granted, but on the ISS we have to continuously recycle these resources, so the new definition I have after coming here is that we have to preserve the environment,” he said.
One audience member asked him if he could take a person with him to space, who it would be, but Dr Al Neyadi was tight-lipped to not upset anyone.
“I wish everyone would try this. I can't pick a name now, so no one gets angry with me,” he said.
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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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