Britain's Defence Secretary Grant Shapps leaves Number 10 Downing Street in London. AFP
Britain's Defence Secretary Grant Shapps leaves Number 10 Downing Street in London. AFP
Britain's Defence Secretary Grant Shapps leaves Number 10 Downing Street in London. AFP
Britain's Defence Secretary Grant Shapps leaves Number 10 Downing Street in London. AFP

World

UK

Grant Shapps pledges more military support during first meeting on Ukraine

He pledged the UK’s 'unwavering commitment' to Kyiv during meeting of Ukraine Defence Contact Group at Ramstein air base in Germany

Soraya Ebrahimi
Soraya Ebrahimi

September 19, 2023

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UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps agreed on Tuesday to provide Ukraine with tens of thousands more artillery shells as he met his new Ukrainian counterpart for the first time.

The Defence Secretary pledged the UK’s “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine as he attended the 15th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at the US Air Force base in Ramstein, Germany, alongside Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.

Ministers and senior officials from about 50 countries met at the base to co-ordinate international support for the war-torn nation.

It marked Mr Shapps’s first meeting with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who was promoted in a cabinet mini-reshuffle in August.

The UK has delivered more than 300,000 artillery shells to Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Defence.

“Today we’ve demonstrated the UK’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine and set out more military support, including pledging tens of thousands more artillery shells to enable Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked invasion and to retake illegally occupied territories,” Mr Shapps said following the meeting.

“To ensure Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself as we approach winter, we have also set out how the UK will go further in the coming months in our priority support areas, including air defence and long-range strike capabilities and training.”

Ukraine-Russia conflict latest – in pictures

  • A soldier on alert near the front line in Andriivka, 10km south of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut. AP
    A soldier on alert near the front line in Andriivka, 10km south of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut. AP
  • An assault unit commander raises the Ukrainian flag as a symbol of liberation of the frontline village of Andriivka. AP
    An assault unit commander raises the Ukrainian flag as a symbol of liberation of the frontline village of Andriivka. AP
  • Ukrainian emergency teams out a fire in Lviv. EPA
    Ukrainian emergency teams out a fire in Lviv. EPA
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Staten Island University Hospital, New York, where some Ukrainian soldiers are being treated for injuries sustained in the war. Reuters
    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Staten Island University Hospital, New York, where some Ukrainian soldiers are being treated for injuries sustained in the war. Reuters
  • A Ukrainian farmer surveys a destroyed grain depot on his land near the frontline town of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia region. EPA
    A Ukrainian farmer surveys a destroyed grain depot on his land near the frontline town of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia region. EPA
  • Schoolchildren learn to handle rifles at a military centre in Lviv. AFP
    Schoolchildren learn to handle rifles at a military centre in Lviv. AFP
  • A Ukrainian soldier fires a howitzer towards Russian troops in Donetsk region. Reuters
    A Ukrainian soldier fires a howitzer towards Russian troops in Donetsk region. Reuters
  • A sombre funeral ceremony for a Ukrainian soldier killed in Polonne, Khmelnytskyi region. AP
    A sombre funeral ceremony for a Ukrainian soldier killed in Polonne, Khmelnytskyi region. AP
  • Ukrainian heavy armoured vehicles are driven into position in Donetsk region. Reuters
    Ukrainian heavy armoured vehicles are driven into position in Donetsk region. Reuters
  • A Ukrainian cadet carries a machinegun below the Motherland Monument in Kyiv. Bloomberg
    A Ukrainian cadet carries a machinegun below the Motherland Monument in Kyiv. Bloomberg

“With representatives from 50 nations gathered in Ramstein today, President [Vladimir] Putin should be worried,” Sir Tony said.

“This is a tangible demonstration of the international community’s continued resolve to back Ukraine with the military support it requires through the winter and into 2024.

“The United Kingdom will continue to work with our allies and partners to help build Ukraine’s long-term resilience so it can fulfil its potential as a secure and prosperous sovereign nation.”

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SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.

A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors. 

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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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Updated: September 19, 2023, 9:05 PM
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