Senior US diplomat and former deputy assistant secretary for Arabian Gulf Affairs Tim Lenderking will be appointed as envoy to Yemen, sources told The National.
Mr Lenderking's appointment could be unveiled as soon as Thursday when President Joe Biden speaks at the State Department to lay out his vision on foreign policy for the next four years.
A soft-spoken and seasoned diplomat with extensive experience in the broader Middle East since 1993, Mr Lenderking will be the first US envoy for Yemen since the country descended into war in 2014.
He has worked directly on efforts to resolve the conflict over the past four years as deputy assistant secretary of state for Arabian Gulf Affairs. He met Yemeni officials including President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi in 2019 to try to move the diplomatic needle in the conflict.
Mr Lenderking knows the regional actors and stakeholders in the conflict having served as deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and before that on assignments in Iraq and Kuwait.
Former US official at the Pentagon Andrew Exum praised the appointment, calling Mr Lenderking “a real mensch, and someone who knows the region as well as anyone in the US government”.
The appointment of an envoy itself reflects heightened interest from the Biden administration in resolving the Yemen conflict.
US Secretary of State Tony Blinken stressed in his appointment hearing that ending the war in Yemen is a priority for the Biden administration and has initiated a review on the terrorist designation of the Houthi rebels by the Trump administration.
In his first briefing last month, Mr Blinken said the Biden administration is reviewing the designation of the Houthis as a terrorist organisation.
He blamed the Houthis and the Saudi-led intervention for contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
"It's vitally important even in the midst of this crisis that we do everything we can to get humanitarian assistance to the people of Yemen, who are in desperate need," he said.
Nadwa Dawsari, a Yemeni scholar and non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute, saw the appointment of an American envoy to the conflict as one that will facilitate direct US engagement.
"This is significant as it gives the US administration more direct involvement in the UN-led talks," Ms Dawsari told The National.
She urged a reassessment of the UN approach to the "deeply flawed" peace talks, which she said are overly focused on incremental changes to the military landscape while ignoring the political stalemate.
“Ending the Saudi intervention won't end the Yemen war and neither a political arrangement between the Houthis and Hadi government,” Ms Dawsari said.
“Mr Lenderking needs to talk to Yemenis from across the political spectrum and ensure that the Yemen talks are inclusive of the various local actors, not just [the] Hadi government and the Houthis.”
The expert said the focus should be on mitigating the humanitarian effects of the war, such as opening airports, roads, payment of salaries, and addressing issues such as the FSO Safer tanker. The oil tanker has been moored off Yemen's west coast for more than 30 years and is degrading at a rapid pace, risking huge environmental damage.
Mr Lenderking is a staunch advocate of a political settlement in Yemen. “There is no military solution to this conflict,” the incoming US envoy said in 2017.
"The more bombs that are dropping, the more Houthi aggression, the more attacks against Riyadh and other population centres in Riyadh, which we cannot countenance, the more conflict is going to drag on," he said.
He supported including the Houthis in a political settlement but repeatedly voiced concern over their support from Iran.
“One very concerning element to all this and very consistent throughout the last couple of years of the conflict has been Iran’s support for the Houthis,” Mr Lenderking said.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that Mr Biden, who will speak at the State Department on Thursday, "will announce an end to US offensive operations" and he confirmed that the president will appoint a special envoy. Operations against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula will, however, continue, Mr Sullivan said.
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
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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Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
