UAE puts ‘Principles of the 50’ into practice with new approach to federal projects

A series of meetings has been held to set out the way the UAE federal government will work in the future.

It will shift its focus to “short-term transformational projects” and give more control to federal ministries, news agency Wam reported.

“Today, the UAE Government launched the new methodology for federal government work, which focuses on short-term transformational projects and gives greater authorities to federal ministries, guided by the Principles of the 50 in paving its new government path,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Prime Minister.

The new approach was launched at meetings attended by 70 ministers and government officials from more than 40 federal government entities.

Sheikh Mohammed said the UAE was growing rapidly and that the world was undergoing unprecedented geopolitical and technological shifts. He said successful countries would be the quickest to adapt to these developments.

He said the current government work model and what people expect from ministers had changed over the past decade. Emiratis deserved the best and most efficient government, he said.

The UAE Government held several sessions to discuss major projects to support ministers and federal authorities to draft plans, present proposals for major projects in key sectors and link them to national priorities. The projects would improve the government’s readiness for the future and help achieve the UAE Centennial 2071, Wam reported.

During the launch of the sessions, Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said the new methodology embodied the vision of Sheikh Mohammed to achieve progress in government work and would boost the UAE’s regional and global leadership.

In September 2021, Sheikh Mohammed announced the new methodology in line with the Principles of the 50, which will act as a roadmap for a new era of political, economic and social development.

The Cabinet approved the Principles of the 50 to act as guidelines for all UAE’s institutions and called on government bodies to adopt and introduce the 10 principles, which help lay out a vision to continue the nation’s development in its first 50 years for the next half-century.

In a decree issued by President Sheikh Khalifa in October, all ministries, federal and local government authorities and institutions in the UAE must stick rigorously to 10 key principles for the next five decades.

They are to use the principles as guidelines in all directives and decisions, and introduce them in plans and strategies.

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

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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.”