President Sheikh Mohamed meets his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El Sisi in Al Alamein city, Egypt, on an official visit. All photos: UAE Presidential Court
President Sheikh Mohamed meets his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El Sisi in Al Alamein city, Egypt, on an official visit. All photos: UAE Presidential Court
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, UAE Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Court, (right) and Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed, chairman of the board of trustees of the Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, attend a meeting with the Egyptian president in Al Alamein city
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, UAE Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Court, (right) and Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed, chairman of the board of trustees of the Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, attend a meeting with the Egyptian president in Al Alamein city
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed (right) and Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, attend a meeting with Mr El Sisi in Al Alamein city
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed (right) and Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, attend a meeting with Mr El Sisi in Al Alamein city

UAE

President Sheikh Mohamed holds talks with El Sisi in Egypt

Two leaders discussed efforts to bolster long-standing ties between the nations

The National

August 05, 2023

  • English
  • Arabic

President Sheikh Mohamed on Saturday held talks with Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El Sisi on an official visit.

The two leaders reviewed efforts to boost long-standing ties during a meeting in the Egyptian city of El Alamein, state news agency Wam reported.

They explored ways to strengthen relations in a number of existing areas of co-operation, with a focus on the economy and investment.

They also discussed regional and international developments and underlined the importance of joint Arab action to secure peace, stability and development in the region.

The two men declared their intention to enhance their partnership, in light of challenges facing the Middle East.

The meeting was attended by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Court, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed, chairman of the board of trustees of the Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad, Special Affairs Advisor at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs.

President enjoys Egypt visit

Sheikh Mohamed has enjoyed a warm welcome in Egypt, in keeping with the friendship between the nations.

Video has been shared on social media of the UAE leader at ease with his surroundings during his visit.

The footage shows a smiling Sheikh Mohamed happily posing for selfies with crowds delighted to see him in person.

The genial scenes underline an alliance between the countries built up over decades.

In April, Sheikh Mohamed visited Cairo for talks with Mr El Sisi.

The two leaders reviewed bilateral relations in all fields and close co-operation between the two nations on regional issues, the Egyptian presidency said.

“The meeting included an exchange of views on the most pressing regional and international issues. Their discussion reflected mutual understanding on how to handle these issues,” it said.

In February, the Egyptian President travelled to Abu Dhabi, where he was welcomed by Sheikh Mohamed.

Mr El Sisi was in the UAE on a working visit in which he led the Egyptian delegation at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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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.”

Updated: August 05, 2023, 2:41 PM