Live updates: Follow the latest news on Modi's visit to the UAE
A festival atmosphere has taken over the venue where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to speak to Indian citizens in the UAE on Tuesday.
Mr Modi will address 40,000 Indian expats and citizens at 6pm at the Alhan Modi event at Zayed Sports City stadium in the capital.
It is part of his two-day UAE tour during which he will speak at Dubai's World Governments Summit on Wednesday, before inaugurating Abu Dhabi's landmark Hindu temple later that day.
Modi has a global reputation of being a dependable leader in a time of crisis
Srinivas Kini
Thousands of Indian citizens descended on the stadium ahead of Mr Modi's speech on Tuesday evening.
The event began with families from across the emirates chanting, “Modi, Modi” hours before his arrival.
Some told The National that they had arrived at the venue as early as 10.30am.
“I wanted to be here early because I'm so excited and happy to get a chance to hear him speak,” said Shilpa Shenoy, an Abu Dhabi resident who works in the oil and gas sector.
“Modi's message is vasudeva kutumbhbhava (the whole world is one family).
“I really believe that you can be from any part of India but the message is for the world and for all Indians to unite.”
Families and people from all over India danced and sang along with popular Bollywood songs at the Ahlan Modi community event.
A colourful parade and performances by dancers kept crowds entertained. Some of those attending wore the colours of the Indian flag, or had it painted on their faces.
Wearing a sari with the colours of the Indian tricolour, Neha Pandey described the prime minister as a “great leader” who worked to build good relations with the UAE, other Gulf nations and the rest of the world.
“He is incredible because of his vision not only for India but for the world,” said Ms Pandey, who owns a small fashion business in the UAE.
“For so many years, he has been building more friendship between the UAE and India, and all over the Gulf.
“This is something I feel we can all learn from him.”
Srinivas Kini, an engineer who has lived in the UAE for nearly 30 years, said there were lessons to be learnt from Mr Modi.
“Modi has a global reputation of being a dependable leader in a time of crisis – he always has a solution.
“This is very much like what we see in the UAE with the leadership of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.
“We are blessed that both leaders are close friends and really proud to see how the relationship has grown.”
Part of a large group of friends sporting bright orange Indian kurtas (long shirts), Mr Kini said: “He has shown us his road map for India and how he wants our country to progress.
“India is currently fifth in the world and he has spoken about taking us to number three.
“I would like to know how we as NRIs can actively help in reaching these objectives,” Mr Kini said, referring to India ranking fifth in the world's GDP rankings in 2024.
People who had travelled from India were in the vocal audience who cheered cultural performances and shouted slogans such as, “Bharat mata ki jay (Long live Mother India).”
Chethana Prabhu, a housewife from southern India's Mangalore, is in Abu Dhabi to hear Mr Modi speak and for the inauguration of the capital's first Hindu temple.
“I'm just proud to be Indian and to have a prime minister who has a great vision for India and big plans for the country and us as people,” Ms Prabhu told The National.
Ms Prabhu lived in the UAE for more than 30 years with her banker husband before he retired and returned to India.
“The UAE and India having such a close friendship is important and a big thing for us,” she added.
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As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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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Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
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Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
