The telephone call should have been a diplomatic formality between allies, centered on a message of congratulations for Imran Khan on his appointment as prime minister.
Instead last month's communication from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo set off another spat between America and Pakistan and served only to underline their prickly relations.
The uneasy allies could afterwards not even agree on what was discussed, while some saw the failure of Donald Trump to speak himself to his fellow leader as a deliberate slight of protocol.
It is against this unfortunate backdrop that Mr Pompeo and the top US military officer, Gen Joseph Dunford, will stop in Islamabad on Wednesday en route to Pakistan's arch-rival, India.
American officials see the visit as an attempt to gain much needed cooperation in Afghanistan at a time when violence is escalating and Mr Trump's year-old South Asia strategy is making little headway against the Taliban.
The US president boosted American troop numbers to about 14,000 last year, saying he would loosen restrictions on commanders and let them "fight to win". Yet the Afghan forces they are training have failed to strengthen Kabul's grip on the country and ISIS remains stubbornly dug into eastern Afghanistan.
Jim Mattis, the US defence secretary, has said combating militants will be a primary part of discussions in Islamabad.
Mr Khan, whose political rise was sped by regular outbursts of anti-American rhetoric, has said he wants to forge a more equal partnership.
Tensions will not have been helped by the Pentagon's announcement on Saturday that America was cancelling $300m of military aid.
The decision to formally reassign the money – frozen earlier in the year – was a reprisal for what the US said was a lack of decisive actions by Pakistan in stopping alleged support for Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
The US has long accused Pakistan, and particularly its military spy agency, of supporting the Taliban and a militant grouping known as the Haqqani network, to increase influence in Afghanistan.
"I think [America] is absolutely furious that Pakistan has not acted more decisively in taking on terrorist groups which are seen to be scuppering a peace settlement in Afghanistan," said Dr Farzana Shaikh, a Pakistan specialist at the Chatham House think tank.
In his first tweet of the year, Mr Trump criticised Pakistan's "lies and deceit", saying it had received billions of dollars of aid and had still failed to act against its alleged militant proxies.
Mr Trump's failure to pick up the phone himself to congratulate the new leader of the world's fifth most populous nation was another sign of disapproval, said Dr Shaikh.
"The message is clear, that President Trump simply cannot be bothered to pick up the phone and congratulate Prime Minister Khan.
"This is intended to send out a deliberate message to Pakistan and its new leadership," she said.
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Read more:
Pakistan disputes US account of Khan and Pompeo call
Pakistan recruits thousands more troops to guard Afghan border
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America said after the telephone call that Mr Pompeo had raised the importance of Prime Minister Khan "taking decisive action against all terrorists operating in Pakistan".
Islamabad bristled, calling the US account factually inaccurate and demanding it be immediately corrected.
Yet despite the mistrust and recriminations, Dr Shaikh said both countries knew the relationship could not be allowed to founder.
If Pakistan is to apply for an International Monetary Fund bailout to ease its dire finances, it must court Washington which holds the lion's share of IMF decision-making votes.
Pakistan meanwhile remains as critical as ever to any solution to the US's longest-running war. President Ashraf Ghani's government in Kabul continues to lose ground against a Taliban insurgency. Mr Trump's administration has set its hopes on a peace settlement.
"As far as the United States is concerned I think it's an open secret that any significant shift to a peace settlement in Afghanistan will depend on Pakistan's cooperation.
"The United States, despite President Trump's rather disparaging remarks about Pakistan, understands this," added Dr Shaikh
Yet in an era of diplomacy by Twitter, any attempt to rebuild the friendship is always a tweet from disaster.
"I don't see the relationship coming out of the woods in any foreseeable future given the predilection of the Trump administration is to conduct its diplomacy via the media and tweets, that can cause a fair amount of offence in Pakistan,” said Sherry Rehman, a senator and former Pakistani ambassador to Washington.
The fragility of President Ghani's government mean the hard practicalities of Afghan security are likely to dominate discussions behind closed doors, she said.
"Mood and tone will count for a lot more generally than it does elsewhere, because there's always a certain level of ice to be broken between the two countries."
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Helen Cullen, Graydon House
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
The specs: 2018 Dodge Durango SRT
Price, base / as tested: Dh259,000
Engine: 6.4-litre V8
Power: 475hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 640Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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 years Ramadan fell in May
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The Vines - In Miracle Land
Two stars
The specs: 2018 Ford Mustang GT
Price, base / as tested: Dh204,750 / Dh241,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Gearbox: 10-speed automatic
Power: 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque: 569Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.3L / 100km
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
