As Nato leaders prepare for the alliance’s summit in Brussels next month, concerns about American President Donald Trump are being voiced by diplomats behind closed doors. Mr Trump has been vocal about Nato members’ shortfalls, particularly when it comes to defence budgets. Although all 29 Nato members committed to 2 per cent expenditure of their GDP on defence, only eight member states have turned their pledge into action. American frustration at covering close to 22 per cent of Nato spending is not new; however, Mr Trump’s public criticisms are.
Multilateral diplomacy relies on public statements of unity and private negotiations. Only rarely do criticisms rise to the surface to ensure the endurance of alliances. Nato is one of the world’s most successful examples of multilateral organisations, with collective action resting on unanimity and long-term diplomatic ties. But as it faces internal pressure from Mr Trump and the external ambitions of Russia, questions abound about the future of multilateral action.
The diplomatic fallout from the G7 summit earlier this month, including America’s rescinding of the final communique, cast light once again on the challenges facing multilateral action. A fair question to ask is whether it actually matters if multilateralism fails? Beyond the diplomatic hassle of figuring out how countries could work on collective issues like migration or oil prices, would matters get worse without a multilateral approach? The answer is yes. It matters – and things can always get worse.
Multilateral action based on compromise and a rejection of “zero-sum games” has led to important improvements on the world stage, including the banning of nuclear weapons and protection of intellectual property through patents. International agreements like the Geneva conventions have been undermined in recent wars but remain the globally recognised reference point for all nation states.
Long-established diplomatic practices have served an important purpose for the security of nations. But there can be no denying the need for improvements. For example, while Mr Trump’s method of calling out Nato member countries publicly might be unorthodox, no one can deny that members have failed to meet their obligations.
Another example can be determined from the accusations levelled at the International Criminal Court in its bias against African leaders while ignoring other regimes. And most famously, UN Security Council resolution 242, passed in 1967 to end the occupation of Palestine, has yet to be implemented.
Until recently, international summits would result in straightforward and, at times, dull final communiques. Journalists would be frantically working on their sources, hoping to get some colour from the meetings.
In the world of Twitter and Mr Trump, all that has changed. Today most journalists try to keep readers’ attention on the substantive issues from these meetings instead of tweets and public outbursts.
Understanding how America’s position in the world is changing is vital and will impact international relations for years to come. However, the triviality of some of the comments, that are often not relevant beyond a couple of news cycles, should not detract from the realities of diplomacy in the modern era.
The concern is that the current architecture of multilateralism has been repositioned to manage crises rather than resolve them. As damage limitation takes up more and more time of multilateral action, including in areas of war or climate change, proposals for large-scale solutions are becoming more scarce.
With more regimes acting with impunity, countries that ally themselves with a permanent member of the UN Security Council have an umbrella to act freely, as that ally can veto any international rebuke. This is most discernible with Israel and its alliance with the United States, and more recently with Syria and its Russian alliance. While the exercise of the veto by permanent members is by no means new, its more frequent and obvious use is troubling.
Here in the Arab world, there is a need for new thinking and new approaches to solve old wars – and to prevent new ones. While the occupation of Palestine and the Syrian war need to be resolved, water wars could be on the horizon. All of these conflicts have a regional and global impact and need a multilateral approach that isn’t confined to state actors.
Regional governance failures have added to the woes of multilateralism in the region. The Arab League has not delivered on mediation promises, nor is it alone in this failure.
Long hailed as the example of successful regional co-operation, and even getting a Nobel Prize for its existence and survival, the European Union struggles with the fallout from Brexit. There is a global trend that must be reckoned with.
Last week UN secretary general Antonio Guterres warned that “power relations are less clear.. the world is less clear… with very weak multilateral governance and less and less respect for the rule of law”. Mr Guterres’ warning from Oslo was stark and a reminder that even the head of the greatest instrument of multilateralism cannot tackle this challenge alone. One of the endemic features of multilateral work is that agreements often end up taking the lowest common denominator option to ensure all parties sign up to it.
Multilateral fora cannot be a fig leaf for failed collective action. However, they are important vehicles for diplomacy and a search for solutions. Fraught compromises and working through linguistic loopholes alone do not represent success but can help steward countries through challenges.
While Nato is not a global alliance, it is a vital fixture in the architecture of global security. Next month its leaders will have to ensure multilateralism isn’t held hostage to statements – whether they are bland communiques or dramatic tweets.
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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.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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