DUBAI // A member of Britain's parliament plans to present a motion in the House of Commons that will push the issue of Iran's occupation of three disputed Gulf islands on to the British political agenda.
John Grogan, an MP in the governing Labour party, yesterday met Abdul Aziz al Ghurair, Speaker of the Federal National Council.
He said he would present the motion in the autumn, after parliament's summer break.
"I think that would be a way of keeping the issue on the political agenda," Mr Grogan told reporters at a press conference in Dubai.
"If there is a motion on the question of the islands that means it's a live issue in the Foreign Office."
On the eve of the UAE's independence in 1971, Iranian troops forcibly seized the three islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs. Iran has repeatedly shrugged off calls to settle the dispute diplomatically.
Mr Grogan met the FNC Speaker in London in January, when they discussed the need to raise the question in parliament.
Last week Mr Grogan arranged a debate in Westminster Hall at which he presented to Ivan Lewis, a Foreign Office minister, the basis of the UAE's claim to the three islands, located in the Strait of Hormuz.
It was the first time the issue had been raised in the Commons for nearly 40 years.
Mr Grogan, who represents the constituency of Selby in North Yorkshire, said he hoped the motion would be signed by members of the main British parties.
Asked how many he thought would lend their names to it, he said: "I am a great cricket fan and in cricket the first target is 50 and the second target is 100 so I think those would be good targets. The first target would be 50 and you can go on from there."
He added: "The aim is to encourage members from different parties to sign the motion."
Although the motion will be submitted to the Commons, it has very little chance of being debated. The idea, however, is to attract public attention through the media.
Mr Grogan said he expected the motion to gain a significant number of signatories because of its issue-promoting nature.
Mr al Ghurair said: "This is a mechanism that will make the subject automatically present on the agenda of the House of Commons.
"It's not for discussion, but rather putting the question of the islands on the agenda.
"The idea is that the House of Commons will follow up on this issue with the British government and the Foreign Office," he said.
Before the UAE's independence, the British government emphatically supported Sharjah's and Ras al Khaimah's claims over the islands. But since its withdrawal from the Gulf region, Britain has emphasised only the need to resolve the dispute peacefully.
In 1995 Douglas Hurd, the British foreign secretary, said during a visit to Abu Dhabi that the UAE's approach in handling the matter had been "resolute and cautious", adding that "we strongly support their move to resolve it at the International Court of Justice".
Mr Grogan said it was "ridiculous" that the question of the islands' sovereignty had been neglected for several decades.
"I am very hopeful," he said, "that the British government will recall its previous positions and will realise that it does have a historical responsibility to try to get this matter resolved.
"What we've succeeded in doing last week is getting it very much back on the political agenda in the United Kingdom.
"Now we need to keep pressing and I will do that in the coming months."
In the past two years, FNC delegations have secured support for the UAE's position from parliamentary and government leaders in Moscow, Rome, Warsaw and Ankara.
"We are getting support from friendly countries. We are rallying worldwide," said Mr al Ghurair.
"At a certain time this issue will escalate and cause some debate between the two countries - be it bilateral, be it at the international court, be it at the UN.
"At that time you need somebody who will give you the support and endorse your legitimate cause."
mhabboush@thenational.ae
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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.”
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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THE SPECS
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Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
