Poverty, hunger, disease and environmental impact often feel removed or too overwhelming for us as individuals to have any real impact. But collectively, each of our choices and actions can be a force for positive change in even the most complex global challenges.
The UAE is inviting the world to come together and prove this as part of Expo 2020 Dubai.
A world expo is a rare chance for individuals, nations, businesses, multilateral organisations and educational institutions from all over the world to come together and form meaningful partnerships that drive global change.
Expo 2020’s newly unveiled Opportunity Pavilion is designed to act as a platform to harness this power of collaboration in our joint effort to support human development.
The pavilion is framed around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 17 global objectives that aim to ensure a basic quality of life for everyone.
This week I will attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York to discuss how the international community is working to achieve those SDGs as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Through Expo 2020, the UAE can make a significant contribution to this collective effort and the Opportunity Pavilion has a crucial role to play.
By providing people with access to basic needs such as clean water, nutritious food and equal access to healthcare, education and jobs, we create environments that enable them to thrive and reach their full potential. Every individual has a role to play if we are to maximise the scale of our impact.
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The Opportunity Pavilion will put each visitor at the heart of our collective mission to support human development through an engaging and interactive journey that uses decision-making to show the impact of our choices and actions.
It will highlight how our individual, small actions can help solve problems faced by communities in every corner of the planet.
The pavilion will also offer the ideal home for Expo 2020’s global best practice programme called Small Steps, Big Leaps, which showcases successful solutions that can have an impact on the world’s biggest challenges.
These solutions can be developed and implemented by anyone, from countries, companies and international organisations to communities or even creative individuals. This is what the pavilion is all about.
By empowering people to recognise their personal role – and therefore our collective role – in achieving common goals, our nation has the chance to meet its 2020 objectives within the context of the world’s 2030 agenda. This is a global agenda. The SDGs are the result of a grassroots movement; they were conceived by individuals like you and me. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring we achieve them.
Through Expo 2020, the UAE will bring all kinds of partners to the table to enhance collaboration and unlock new opportunities that enable people to achieve their immediate goals while pursuing their long-term aspirations.
Reshaping our collective future will not be easy but we have the numbers to make a real difference. The global population is expected to surpass eight billion before 2030. Imagine what the overall impact would be if each one of us made a small, conscious decision to change something for the better?
Fortunately, the 193 countries represented in UNGA have committed to achieving SDGs and by focusing our attention on them and engaging all of Expo 2020’s stakeholders – including millions of visitors – in their achievement, the UAE has an opportunity to accelerate our collective journey towards global change. This is our chance to make meaningful contributions to end poverty, provide quality education, drive economic growth, improve infrastructure and reduce inequality.
We have committed to delivering the most inclusive world expo in history because, regardless of nationality, age, ability or background, we all have the power to make the world a better place. Those who visit Expo 2020 and its Opportunity Pavilion will not only witness but experience this firsthand.
By encouraging and empowering millions of people to consider the impact of their personal choices and actions, our nation can affect positive change on a global scale. Opportunity is a win-win game. If we succeed in making small but meaningful improvements to our own lives, the entire world stands to benefit.
Reem Al Hashimy is the UAE's Minister of State for International Cooperation and director general of Expo 2020 Dubai
Results
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,000m; Winner: Dhafra, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
3.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Al Ajayib, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
4pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Ashtr, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Majed Al Jahouri
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Falcon Claws, Szczepan Mazur, Doug Watson
5pm: Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Al Mufham SB, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Badar Al Hajri
5.30pm: Sharjah Marathon – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,700m; Winner: Asraa Min Al Talqa, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
THE SPECS
BMW X7 xDrive 50i
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed Steptronic transmission
Power: 462hp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh600,000
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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.”
