Mohammed bin Salman embraces Qatari emir on arrival for GCC summit

Saudi Crown Prince's warm greeting comes as Gulf states meet to reconcile differences

Mina Aldroubi
Mina Aldroubi
Abu Dhabi

January 05, 2021

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim exchanged a warm embrace on the tarmac at Al Ula airport after the Qatari delegation arrived for the 41st Gulf Co-operation Council summit on Tuesday.

Sheikh Tamim's attendance was another signal of moves towards reconciliation within the GCC, coming a day after Saudi Arabia reopened its borders and airspace to Qatar.

  • Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcoming Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani upon his arrival in the city of al-Ula. AFP
    Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcoming Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani upon his arrival in the city of al-Ula. AFP
  • Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman embraces Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim upon arrival at Al Ula
    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman embraces Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim upon arrival at Al Ula
  • Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman greets Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai upon arrival in Al Ula. SPA
    Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman greets Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai upon arrival in Al Ula. SPA
  • Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman greets Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai upon arrival in Al Ula. SPA
    Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman greets Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai upon arrival in Al Ula. SPA
  • Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Sabah of Kuwait. SPA
    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Sabah of Kuwait. SPA
  • Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes Oman Deputy Prime Minister, Fahad bin Mahmoud. SPA
    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes Oman Deputy Prime Minister, Fahad bin Mahmoud. SPA
  • Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad. SPA
    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad. SPA
  • A Saudi television anchor stands in front of the logo of the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at the media centre at Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. AP
    A Saudi television anchor stands in front of the logo of the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at the media centre at Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. AP
  • The airport in the Saudi city of Al Ula. AFP
    The airport in the Saudi city of Al Ula. AFP
  • Journalists wait at the media centre ahead of the 41st GCC summit in Al Ula in north-western Saudi Arabia. AFP
    Journalists wait at the media centre ahead of the 41st GCC summit in Al Ula in north-western Saudi Arabia. AFP
  • Aircraft of GCC delegations are parked at Al Ula airport, Saudi Arabia. AP
    Aircraft of GCC delegations are parked at Al Ula airport, Saudi Arabia. AP
  • Saudi police vehicles wait near the airport in Al Ula to escort the national delegation to the Gulf Cooperation Council summit. AFP
    Saudi police vehicles wait near the airport in Al Ula to escort the national delegation to the Gulf Cooperation Council summit. AFP
  • A convoy carries participants of the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. AP
    A convoy carries participants of the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. AP
  • Journalists at the media centre ahead of the 41st GCC summit in Al Ula. AFP
    Journalists at the media centre ahead of the 41st GCC summit in Al Ula. AFP

Qatar's emir is attending the GCC summit for the first time since 2017, when fellow bloc members Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, along with Egypt, cut off ties over Doha's support for extremist groups.

Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said the summit at Al Ula would be a "historic" meeting "through which we restore Gulf cohesion and are keen to ensure that the security, stability and prosperity of our countries and peoples are the first priority".

"We have more work [to do] and we are [going] in the right direction," he said on Twitter on Monday after the Saudi-Qatari decision was announced.

Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad was the first regional leader to arrive for the summit. He was followed by the Omani delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Fahad bin Mahmoud attending on behalf of Sultan Haitham.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, arrived next with a delegation that included National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed; Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Al Gergawi; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash; Ali Mohammed Al Shamsi, Deputy Secretary General at the Supreme National Security Council; and Sheikh Shakboot bin Nahyan, the UAE Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

The UAE contingent was followed by the Kuwaiti delegation led by Emir Sheikh Nawaf, who said last week that he was optimistic about the meeting. The summit will bring GCC leaders together to strengthen their solidarity against the challenges in the region, he said.

All the delegations were received by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

US President Donald Trump's senior adviser, Jared Kushner, is also expected to attend the summit, according to a US official.

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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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