World leaders will be allowed to send video messages to the UN General Assembly instead of attending in person, in a sign that the annual event is being scaled back again because of Covid-19.
The UN’s 193-nation assembly body agreed on Wednesday to permit recorded video statements from leaders at the annual diplomatic meeting, which begins on September 21 in New York City.
The gathering of leaders is now expected to involve countries sending scaled-down delegations or having mask-wearing diplomats already in New York take the lead due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
A successful vaccination programme has seen life in New York largely return to normal, but the arrival of large delegations from regions with worsening rates of Covid and its more virulent variants is a cause for concern.
“We very much depend on the New York authorities and we're going to work with them as we have in past [assemblies] to follow their guidelines,” UN spokeswoman Florencia Soto Nino said.
“If the variant gets worse, that is not great for anyone, either here or anywhere else in the world. That could potentially affect any events that have large gatherings.”
Last year’s UN assembly was supposed to be a 75th birthday party for the world body, which was formed after the Second World War, but it was pared back to mostly recorded video messages amid the pandemic.
During a regular General Assembly, leaders travel to Manhattan with entourages of sometimes more than 100 aides for a gruelling week of speeches and private meetings.
Richard Gowan, a UN analyst for the International Crisis Group, posted on social media that “tentative plans for an in-person” UN gathering were “starting to unravel".
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COMPANY PROFILE
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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ARSENAL
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SPAIN
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- European Championship - 2008, 2012
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The biog
From: Ras Al Khaimah
Age: 50
Profession: Electronic engineer, worked with Etisalat for the past 20 years
Hobbies: 'Anything that involves exploration, hunting, fishing, mountaineering, the sea, hiking, scuba diving, and adventure sports'
Favourite quote: 'Life is so simple, enjoy it'
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Taylor Swift
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