ABU DHABI // Regional security threats and the future of the Arab political scene are among the issues that will be discussed at a conference in the capital next week.
Hosted by the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), Middle East: Shifting Roles, Interests and Alliances will tackle political, economic, social and security challenges in the region.
“A new source of threat is developing in the region, with the Shia militia supported by Iran and Hizbollah crossing the Lebanese border into Syria,” said Dr Mustafa Alani, the director of national security and terrorism studies at the Gulf Research Centre.
“It’s not only ISIL or Al Qaeda, so we are focusing on these new threats, and the UAE is a major player in regional politics with Abu Dhabi growing very rapidly.
“The UAE is playing a major role in crises outside the GCC too, like in Libya and Egypt, and it is no longer a marginal state but a central one.”
Fouad Siniora, former prime minister of Lebanon, and Dr Marwan Muasher, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, are among the speakers.
Topics will include changing interests and alliances among Arab Spring countries and regional powers, and related challenges for the international coalition against terrorism.
“These security challenges must be addressed,” Dr Alani said. “We have regional problems.
“Terrorism has become a global issue but if you look at the Houthis in Yemen, it’s a regional issue and as risky, dangerous and threatening as terrorism.”
With recent regional turmoil as a result of the Arab Spring, international and local experts will discuss the risks and challenges that it has brought to the stability of neighbouring countries, including the UAE.
Dr Albadr Al Shateri, a senior adviser and researcher for the Armed Forces, said this was crucial because sectarianism was rampant and “out of control”.
“A country can instrumentalise sectarianism to further its interests before it backfires,” Dr Al Shateri said.
“I once compared such a policy to strapping the region with a belt bomb, which will definitely kill your enemy but you will not survive it.
“So any effort, intellectually or otherwise, that will reduce the risks of pushing the region into the abyss and over the cliff is quite a feat and positive.”
He said that the successful outcome from such a conference was both long and short term.
“In the long term, it raises awareness over the strategic important issues and influences the discourse on finding the appropriate solutions,” Dr Al Shateri said.
“The short term may be sounding out experts and policy wonks on how to face the challenges, or at least mitigate them.”
The role of energy in the strategies of regional and international powers will also be discussed, as will China’s role in the region and the balance of power in the Middle East.
“Since its establishment in 1994, the ECSSR has been in a position of responsibility towards the UAE in particular, and the Gulf and the Middle East in general, to have a scientific environment and discussions of all cases that actually have an impact on our area here,” said Dr Abdullah Al Shaiba, deputy director general of the centre’s community services.
“The ECSSR is placed in a leading position in the area to discuss the impact of current situations and their strategic implications on the area.”
The future of the Arab political scene, role of pan-Arab institutions and the GCC will also be discussed at the conference, which takes place on March 31 and April 1.
cmalek@thenational.ae
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.”
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million