Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi appointed to UAE Cabinet in reshuffle

Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi has been made a minister in the UAE Cabinet.

The appointment came as Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, released details of a reshuffle on Saturday.

Dr Al Neyadi will serve as Minister of State for Youth, which Sheikh Mohammed said was influenced by public nominations for who should fill the position.

Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, will leave her post to serve as Head of the International Affairs Office in the Presidential Court.

She is succeeded by Dr Amna Al Shamsi, who has quickly moved up the ranks of young government officials to a cabinet post, Sheikh Mohammed said.

Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, takes on an expanded role as Deputy Prime Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs.

In other changes, Mohammed Fadel Al Mazrouei was appointed Minister of State for Defence Affairs.

He was previously an undersecretary in the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court and an adviser to the Presidential Court.

Sheikh Mohammed said: “2024 will be a good year … the most beautiful and greatest in the history of the Emirates, God willing.”

Speaking about Dr Al Neyadi, Sheikh Mohammed added: “All the best to Sultan, he will continue to perform his scientific and space duties in addition to his new responsibilities.

“We are with you in this mission.”

Dr Al Neyadi returned from his six-month mission on board the International Space Station in September.

Sheikh Mohammed launched the search for a Youth Minister in the same month, with young Emiratis encouraged to register their interest in the role.

Dr Al Shamsi, the country's new Minister of Environment and Climate Change, was formerly assistant undersecretary of the care and capacity building sector at the Ministry of Education.

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Sultan Al Neyadi's homecoming - in pictures

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“Amna is one of the distinguished federal cadres and we have been following her for several years, as she led a group of strategic projects in the federal government,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“She has a major mission in the environment file, developing the agricultural sector and consolidating security.”

Sheikh Mohammed praised Dr Al Shamsi's predecessor, Ms Al Mheiri.

“Mariam provided a lot to the UAE in the issue of environment and food security internally and externally. She was praised by everyone who dealt with her at home and abroad,” he said.

“She led the UAE’s bid at Cop28 with all professionalism and competence.”

As well as being appointed Minister of State for Defence Affairs, Mr Al Mazrouei becomes a member of the Council of Ministers, Sheikh Mohammed said.

Referring to Sheikh Maktoum's expanded role as Deputy Prime Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed said: “Maktoum ably led the Ministry of Finance in addition to a group of economic and commercial files at the local and federal levels.

“He established balance in our financial policies federally and locally. We trust him.”

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.”

The bio

Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home

Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi appointed to UAE Cabinet in reshuffle

Several key ministers given new and amended roles

Sultan Al Neyadi's homecoming - in pictures

The bio