Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, right, receives Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Budapest on January 31. EPA
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, right, receives Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Budapest on January 31. EPA
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, right, receives Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Budapest on January 31. EPA
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, right, receives Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Budapest on January 31. EPA

Hungary criticises 'stupidity' of Sweden as Turkey refuses to back Nato bid


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto entered the dispute between Turkey and Sweden on Tuesday over Stockholm's Nato accession, accusing it of "stupidity" after an extremist incident in the capital.

As Sweden and Finland try to become members of the military alliance, Turkey and Hungary remain the only countries in 30-nation Nato to have failed to ratify their requests.

Ankara was outraged this month when Swedish police allowed a protest to take place at which a far-right extremist burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

Burning a sacred book of another faith was "unacceptable", Mr Szijjarto said alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Budapest.

Saying the act came under "freedom of speech" protection was "stupidity" added Mr Szijjarto.

"If a country wants to join Nato and is endeavouring to win over Turkish support, then perhaps it should behave a little more carefully," he said.

New members to the Nato alliance require approval from all 30 member states.

Turkey has refused to ratify the two countries' Nato membership bids, mainly because of Sweden's refusal to extradite dozens of suspects that Ankara links to outlawed Kurdish fighters and a failed 2016 coup attempt.

A look at the Nato military alliance - in pictures

  • A solemn welcoming ceremony of US soldiers at Adazi military base, Latvia, on February 25, 2022. More than 300 soldiers of the 173rd Air Force Brigade arrived to demonstrate the US commitment to defend Nato allies and strengthen Latvia's defence capabilities following Russia's military operation in Ukraine. EPA
    A solemn welcoming ceremony of US soldiers at Adazi military base, Latvia, on February 25, 2022. More than 300 soldiers of the 173rd Air Force Brigade arrived to demonstrate the US commitment to defend Nato allies and strengthen Latvia's defence capabilities following Russia's military operation in Ukraine. EPA
  • US paratroopers in Ukraine's western Lviv region during a Nato-sponsored training exercise in 2020. AP
    US paratroopers in Ukraine's western Lviv region during a Nato-sponsored training exercise in 2020. AP
  • A US military aircraft takes off at the US Air Base Ramstein, in Landstuhl, Germany, on February 25. US President Joe Biden February 24 authorised the deployment of further armed forces to Germany as part of Nato's response to Russia's military aggression on Ukraine. EPA
    A US military aircraft takes off at the US Air Base Ramstein, in Landstuhl, Germany, on February 25. US President Joe Biden February 24 authorised the deployment of further armed forces to Germany as part of Nato's response to Russia's military aggression on Ukraine. EPA
  • Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on February 25. EPA
    Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on February 25. EPA
  • A convoy of British armoured vehicles of the Royal Welsh Battlegroup on the way to Estonia, driving through Liepupe, Latvia, on February 25. British troops and equipment are heading to Estonia as part of the UK's contribution to strengthen Nato's uplift to Eastern Europe. EPA
    A convoy of British armoured vehicles of the Royal Welsh Battlegroup on the way to Estonia, driving through Liepupe, Latvia, on February 25. British troops and equipment are heading to Estonia as part of the UK's contribution to strengthen Nato's uplift to Eastern Europe. EPA
  • Protesters outside a Nato leaders virtual summit in Brussels on February 25. AP
    Protesters outside a Nato leaders virtual summit in Brussels on February 25. AP
  • A US Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron receives fuel from a KC-10 Extender aircraft over Poland on February 24. US Air Force/Reuters
    A US Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron receives fuel from a KC-10 Extender aircraft over Poland on February 24. US Air Force/Reuters
  • US military personnel check an Apache attack helicopter AH-64 during a technical stop on the tarmac at Traian Vuia International Airport in Timisoara, Romania, on February 24. EPA
    US military personnel check an Apache attack helicopter AH-64 during a technical stop on the tarmac at Traian Vuia International Airport in Timisoara, Romania, on February 24. EPA
  • German soldiers of the Nato enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania attend a ceremony during a visit of German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to Rukla Military Base, Lithuania, on February 22. EPA
    German soldiers of the Nato enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania attend a ceremony during a visit of German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to Rukla Military Base, Lithuania, on February 22. EPA

Sweden has a bigger Kurdish diaspora than Finland and a more serious dispute with Ankara.

Turkey also reacted with fury to a Swedish prosecutor's decision not to press charges against a pro-Kurdish group that hanged an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by its ankles outside Stockholm City Court.

Ankara last week suspended Sweden and Finland's accession talks.

The Hungarian opposition, meanwhile, has accused Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling party Fidesz of dragging its feet over the ratification vote.

Mr Orban, a close ally of Mr Erdogan, has also plotted an ambiguous, neutral line on the Ukraine war, offering Kyiv only lukewarm support.

Mr Szijjarto said on Tuesday that the Hungarian legislature will decide next month on approving both Nato bids.

"We have a clear standpoint. We support the expansion of Nato," he said.

Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment with bids to join Nato after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

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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.”

if you go

Getting there

Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.

Staying there

On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.

More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr

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RESULT

Manchester United 2 Burnley 2
Man United:
 Lingard (53', 90' 1)
Burnley: Barnes (3'), Defour (36')

Man of the Match: Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)

Updated: January 31, 2023, 10:12 PM