Timothy Lenderking, Mohammed Abulahoum, and US ambassador in YemenStephen A Seche at the third UAE Security Forum. Antonie Robertson / The National
Timothy Lenderking, Mohammed Abulahoum, and US ambassador in YemenStephen A Seche at the third UAE Security Forum. Antonie Robertson / The National

Iran not interested in Yemen peace, says US State Department official



Iran does not appear interested in a long-term peace settlement in Yemen, a US State Department official has told The National.

Timothy Lenderking, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs, spoke on Sunday at the third UAE Security Forum at New York University Abu Dhabi, where officials and policymakers met to address the challenges of peace and reconstruction in Yemen.

Iran has been “keeping the flames [of war] stoked and the Saudis bogged down in the conflict” for years, Mr Lenderking said.

Iran is believed to have played a key role in strengthening Yemen's rebel movement by sending advanced weapons and military advisers. Iran "enables the Houthis to menace the Saudi border… and their territorial integrity," Mr Lenderking told The National on the side-lines of the conference.

Mr Lenderking's comments came as a Yemeni government delegation and Houthi rebels met face-to-face for the first time at peace talks in Sweden on Sunday.

The optics of handshaking is important, said the official, “but even more important is the engagement. Let’s not overestimate chances of breakthrough, but there has been good progress.”

The conference in Abu Dhabi focused on Yemen’s post-war future, in particular stabilisation, reconstruction and development.

But any move towards elections should be undertaken cautiously, said the Chairman of Yemen's Justice and Building Party.

“We’ve seen how rushing into elections throws society back into conflict,” said Mohammed Abulahoum.

Instead, the country needs to re-establish security and prioritise grassroot reconstruction projects, Mr Abulahoum said. “We can’t focus on the mega projects and not those that will… have an impact on the average citizens.”

Mr Abulahoum, a leading politician and social figure in Yemen, had arrived in Abu Dhabi directly from Stockholm, where he was participating in the talks.

The Yemeni government needed to shoulder some responsibility for the country’s situation and for allowing the Houthi rebellion to grow in strength, he said.

“The challenge right now is to learn from the [past] experiences… when everybody was busy in the national dialogue, talking about the constitution, we never focused on the problems that people had,” he said, referring to the state of the country before its descent into civil war. “Even the money that the donors committed to Yemen – about eight billion – was not absorbed or allocated to serious projects.”

Even as this week’s peace talks offer a glimmer of optimism that Yemen’s warring factions might reach a cessation of hostilities, the scale of reconstruction efforts offers an intimidating prospect to the government and humanitarian agencies.

The United Nations describes Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, where as many as 20 million are food insecure. The UN refugee agency said on Friday there were nearly 1,500 civilian casualties between August and October.

Lise Grande, the UN Resident Coordinator in Yemen, said the UN was focusing on a new approach to stabilisation. “We have in many countries tried to stabilise and we have not done it as effectively as people expect us to,” Ms Grande said during the forum.

The UN intends to focus on rapid and simple stabilisation in Yemen, she said, prioritising worst affected areas and projects certain to have a positive impact on the community.

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Read more:

Yemen's warring parties still at odds over key agenda items as talks enter third day

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UK's plans to cut net migration

Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.

Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.

But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.

Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.

Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.

The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.

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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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At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now

Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.

The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.

1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):

a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33

b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.

2. For those who have worked more than five years

c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.

Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.

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