Last week, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed visited Moscow to discuss the crises in the Middle East, including Yemen, Libya, Syria and Iraq.
The UAE and Russia enjoy strong relations and the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ trip was significant as the Kremlin has the keys to unlock back doors in some of these conflict zones.
Russia can be a negotiator on Syria and can open lines of communication with Iran. On Iraq, the UAE and Russia seek coordination on the counter-terrorism fight and both are striving to properly equip Iraqi security forces.
On Yemen, the countries are working on how best to provide humanitarian aid and, with Libya, Abu Dhabi and Moscow are jointly concerned about the country’s future and are providing support to General Khalifa Haftar and his internationally recognised government in the eastern city of Tobruk.
The UAE, through its ambassador to Russia, Omar Ghobash, understands the Kremlin’s interests. Mr Ghobash has been vocal about the need for Russia’s participation in settling regional issues and promoting stability.
Since 2008, he has been the vital interlocutor between Abu Dhabi and Moscow. He is responsible for UAE investment in Russia growing by Dh22 billion over the past three years, an economic bridge between the two nations that is supported by monthly meetings.
Mr Ghobash has also proposed ideas to fight ISIL’s narratives that are seen as useful by Russia.
He argues that fighting these extremists is a global problem and all countries should be involved in stopping them, particularly when it comes to ideas. This resonates with Russian scholars who have a better understanding of moderate Islam in Arab societies than their western colleagues. And that the UAE sees Russia as a great Christian civilisation fits Abu Dhabi’s view of moderation.
In some parts of the Middle East, Christians are being forced to flee violence or are being murdered by extremists such as ISIL.
Abu Dhabi and Moscow abhor these developments and seek to counter such activity by offering voices of fairness and peace.
But there is more to the relationship. The UAE seeks to invest, for example, in Russia’s infrastructure, as well as in food security programmes.
And Abu Dhabi also sees Russia as a heavyweight player and reliable partner, with great economic and knowledge potential.
In 2013, Abu Dhabi established with the Russian Direct Investment Fund a Dh7bn account to develop infrastructure in Russia’s south.
Soon, Mubadala will invest billions of dirhams in Russia’s agriculture sector.
Simultaneously, Russia seeks to build an air hub in the UAE to deliver aid and knowledge to Africa. This facility is to act as a bridge to Africa, where Russia, with its extensive air cargo-carrying capabilities, can help develop infrastructure and provide health services in areas affected by conflict and famine.
It is interesting to note that Russia and the UAE, through Mubadala, are cooperating to build a US$750 million (Dh2.75bn) airport in Cuba, as well as redeveloping a port and building a railway line in the Caribbean country.
So, ties between the UAE and Russia are robust and well developed in terms of geopolitical and economic engagement and that looks set to continue, with many plans for productive collaboration.
Dr Theodore Karasik is a UAE-based geopolitical analyst and commentator on UAE foreign affairs.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
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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Dubai Bling season three
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