'We’ve made tremendous progress on the peace process and these peace efforts should not be squandered,' Tim Lenderking said. Reuters
'We’ve made tremendous progress on the peace process and these peace efforts should not be squandered,' Tim Lenderking said. Reuters
'We’ve made tremendous progress on the peace process and these peace efforts should not be squandered,' Tim Lenderking said. Reuters
'We’ve made tremendous progress on the peace process and these peace efforts should not be squandered,' Tim Lenderking said. Reuters

World

US

Yemen peace efforts must not be 'squandered' during Israel-Gaza war, Tim Lenderking says

US special envoy tells The National the US does not want escalation after reports that Houthi rebels fired more drones at Israel

Ellie Sennett
Ellie Sennett
Washington

November 07, 2023

  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy to Yemen, has warned that peace efforts there must not be wasted as Washington works to contain the war in Gaza from escalating across the Middle East.

“We’ve made tremendous progress on the peace process and these peace efforts should not be squandered,” Mr Lenderking told The National on Tuesday.

“We advise all parties to not widen this conflict."

His comments came after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed on Monday to have fired drones at Israel, in the second attack by the Iran-backed group.

Militants “launched a batch of drones during the past hours at various sensitive targets of the Israeli enemy in the occupied territories”, the group said on X, claiming the drones stopped operations at “targeted bases and airports” for several hours.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli authorities.

US special envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking. Ryan Christopher Jones / The National
US special envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking. Ryan Christopher Jones / The National

A senior US official told The National that Washington's Yemen mission remains “focused on securing, extending and building on the UN-led truce in Yemen, which is having tangible impact on millions of Yemenis and provides the best opportunity for peace that Yemen’s had since war began".

“The parties need to continue to choose peace and move towards a durable, nationwide ceasefire and the launch of an inclusive, Yemeni-Yemeni peace process under UN auspices,” the official said.

Despite being 2,000km away, experts have warned that the Yemeni rebels could emerge as a threat to Israel as it expands its military assault in Gaza.

Last week, the Houthis claimed to have fired missiles and drones at Israeli military targets. Israel later confirmed its Arrow aerial defence system had shot down a missile coming from the Red Sea.

Mr Lenderking has stated that he fears the Gaza-Israel conflict would affect hard-won progress on peace in Yemen, telling the US Institute of Peace last month that Houthi escalation on Gaza was his “worst fear".

There had been relative optimism on prospects for peace in Yemen in the months running up to the escalation of violence between Hamas and Israel.

A UN-brokered ceasefire in April 2022 resulted in a reduction in fighting, which has more or less continued despite the ceasefire expiring in October last year.

Saudi Arabia recently hosted Houthi representatives for several days of talks, in the first official visit by a Houthi delegation to the kingdom since 2014.

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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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