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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a 90-minute meeting with his Gulf counterparts in New York on Thursday, during which they primarily discussed Iran and its nuclear programme.
President Joe Biden's administration is keen to get Iran to return to talks on its nuclear programme after a three-month hiatus caused by its change in government, but Mr Blinken is warning that the window for negotiations may soon close.
"Every passing day as Iran continues to take actions that are not in compliance with the agreement... we will get to a point at which simply returning to the JCPOA will not recapture the benefits of the agreement," Mr Blinken told reporters after the meeting, using the abbreviation for nuclear deal's official name.
The meeting, which took place on the margins of the 76th UN General Assembly, is the first time representatives of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) have met together with Mr Blinken, who took office in February.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and UAE’s Minister of State Yousef Al Otaiba attended.
A source familiar with deliberations said the agenda included Iran, Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the meeting's ambience was described as positive and professional.
Syria and Lebanon were not discussed because the meeting ran out of time, the source explained.
Three sources confirmed to The National that Iran was the main topic during the meeting.
A US return to the Iran nuclear deal was also discussed along with Tehran’s regional behaviour and contingency plans should Iran fail to rein in any renegade actions.
The sources said GCC members agreed on the benefits of capping Iran’s nuclear programme through a US return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but there was no consensus on the concessions Tehran should receive if such a return occurs.
One source said that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan asked Mr Blinken about contingency plans if efforts to return both parties to the JCPOA falter and if Iran’s regional behaviour deteriorates. "What is the plan?", Prince Faisal asked.
Mr Blinken assured the foreign ministers that the US is committed to the security of the Gulf, but gave no clear answer, the source said.
Despite meetings between Iran’s new Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his European counterparts in New York, hopes are diminishing for a swift return to the deal.
Iran's hard-line government has not committed to returning to talks nor to rolling back Tehran's breaches of the deal.
On Afghanistan, one source said Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani favoured using aid as a leverage with the Taliban without sanctioning the group.
Others stressed the need for the Taliban to uphold Afghanistan’s international commitments before any recognition could occur.
Mr Blinken thanked the GCC ministers before the meeting for helping during evacuation efforts in Afghanistan. He called it “a vivid demonstration of how our Gulf partners provide critical support in times of need, and we greatly, greatly appreciate it", according to a source.
While discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mr Blinken emphasised upholding the two-state solution and he thanked Qatar for its aid to the Palestinians.
One of the representatives at the meeting noted that Palestine used to be “the mother of all conflicts in the region, but is now the grandmother”, one person who was present at the meeting said.
He said the meeting is “a reflection of the importance that we all attach to the work that we’re doing, between the United States and the GCC".
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
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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.”
