ABU DHABI // Officials and experts are hopeful but wary of the notable change in relations between the UAE and Iran.
After a year of heightened tensions between the countries, the signing of a nuclear agreement marked a new chapter.
Friction escalated after the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs were invaded by Iran on the eve of the UAE’s union in 1971.
Since then, other points of contention have included Iran’s close relationship with the overthrown Muslim Brotherhood-led government in Egypt.
But Iran has recognised that the UAE was one of the first Arabian Gulf countries to approve the nuclear pact reached in Geneva.
Following a visit by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to Tehran last week, when he inaugurated the UAE’s latest Embassy, the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, and Iran’s foreign minister reached out to the UAE’s leadership and expressed a desire to bring the countries closer.
The Iranian foreign minister is in the UAE and was welcomed by President Sheikh Khalifa and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, who both warmly accepted invitations to Iran.
“The UAE is very much ready to extend a hand of friendship, it has shown that it’s most generous when it comes to Iran,” said Dr Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a prominent Emirati political scientist.
“Now the question is, will Iran reciprocate? Will Iran return all these gestures as expected? The ball is in Iran’s court at the moment.”
Dr Abdulla said one of the first issues that needed to be resolved if Iran wanted to show its determination to patch up relations was the island dispute.
“Otherwise there will always be tension between the two countries,” he said.
It is unclear whether Iran is willing to resolve the issue but Dr Abdulla said a new administration and new president in Iran could mean a new beginning.
Ali Jassim, a Federal National Council member from Umm Al Quwain, has negotiated several times with the Iranian parliament over the island dispute. He hoped Iran’s new friendship was not just a media front.
“We want them to transfer words into actions,” he said. “Not once did we see real action after these visits. If there is a real intention for a better relationship, the islands dispute will be resolved.”
Mr Jassim hoped this was the “beginning of a new page for the two countries”.
Another FNC member, Ahmed Al Jarwan (Sharjah), also head of the Arab Parliament, said this was the time for diplomacy between the two countries in light of Iran’s improved relations with the United States.
He also questioned Iran’s intentions and hoped they were sincere, saying the Arab parliament stood behind the UAE when it came to the UAE’s sovereignty over the three islands.
osalem@thenational.ae
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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.”
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Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
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Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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