President Erdogan says Turkey and US entering ‘new era’ of relations

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey and the US were entering a “new era” in ties, after the Nato allies’ relationship deteriorated in recent years over a range of issues.

But speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Mr Erdogan called for the US to respect for Turkey’s sovereign rights, in an apparent reference to Ankara's purchase of a Russian missile defence system.

He also called for support in relation to Turkey’s fight against Syrian Kurdish groups it considers to be terrorists.

Mr Erdogan made the comments days after his first meeting with US President Joe Biden since he took office.

The two men, who have known each other for years, met on the sidelines of a Nato summit in Brussels.

Mr Erdogan has been trying to repair relations with the US and other western partners as his government tackles an economic downturn made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We believe that we will resolve the problematic issues between us in time, based on our mutual sensitivities and expectations,” he said in a televised address.

“We agreed that there is no issue that we cannot surmount and that on the contrary, the areas of co-operation are greater and more profitable.”

The long-time allies have a long list of disagreements, including US support for Kurdish fighters in Syria and Turkey buying Russia’s S-400 defence system.

The purchase angered Washington and resulted in Ankara being ejected from the US-led F-35 fighter aircraft production programme, sanctions imposed on senior Turkish defence industry officials, and bans on military export licences.

Washington says the Russian system is a threat to Nato security and insists that sanctions cannot be lifted until Turkey gets rid of the system, which has cost $2.5 billion.

Ankara says the Syrian Kurdish fighters are inextricably linked to a decades-long insurgency in Turkey.

Mr Erdogan said his talks with Mr Biden were comprehensive and productive, and that the two agreed to meet again.

“We believe that we have opened the doors of a new era with the United States on a positive and constructive basis,” he said.

“Turkey’s only demand is that its political and economic sovereign rights are respected and that support is given to the struggle it is carrying out against terror organisations inside and outside its borders.”

Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015

- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France

THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)

Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes

Favourite hobby: Football

Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk

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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.”