ABU DHABI // Turmoil in the Arab world signalled a turning point in the amount spent on foreign aid by the UAE, whose efforts have been recognised worldwide.
The country donated Dh7.2 billion in 2011- a jump from Dh2.8bn in 2010 - and provided assistance to more than 120 countries.
Of that, Dh625.3 million was dedicated to humanitarian assistance in more than 30 countries, most of them Arab.
A vast amount of aid this year has gone towards helping Syrian refugees, including a Dh36m UAE-run refugee camp in Jordan.
Labelled as a "five-star camp" by Andrew Harper, the UN refugee agency's representative in Jordan, it can house more than 25,000 people, mostly children, orphans, severe casualties and widows.
The UAE has been giving foreign aid for the past decade but donations notably increased following the eruption of protests in Libya in February 2011.
A crisis soon followed, not only in terms of armed conflict and clashes, but of shortages of food, medicine and fuel and increasing numbers of needy refugees.
"The Libya crisis provided the trigger for a major new initiative in the UAE's response to humanitarian emergencies," the office of coordination of foreign aid said in their latest report.
On February 25, 2011, the President, Sheikh Khalifa, ordered donor organisations to work together as a "UAE Relief Team", which included the UAE Red Crescent, the Khalifa Foundation, the Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment, the Zayed Foundation and the Government.
Within the year, the UAE gave Dh247.7m to help refugees on the Egyptian and Tunisian borders, Dh213m coming directly from the UAE Relief Team.
Planes and cargo ships of medicine, medical equipment, food and other items were sent regularly.
As the crisis continued, refugee camps and field hospitals were set up, sheltering 27,000 people and treating 16,000.
Even today, Abu Dhabi police cars can be found in Libya. They were first shipped in 2011 to help restore security in the country.
When Sudan split into two countries on July 9, 2011, the UAE contributed Dh149.6m to both new countries to help rebuild and support education and orphans and provide potable water.
When Yemen was hit by a humanitarian crisis in 2011 the UAE donated Dh292.1m. Help came in the form of 40,000 tonnes of diesel fuel, shelter, non-food items and medical and health programmes.
The UAE also committed Dh53.5m towards the fight against malaria in a project that will continue for another two years.
The foreign aid office notes that Dh106m in aid was given to Syria in 2011. The amount grew last year as the crisis worsened and again this year. After more than two years of bloodshed the number of refugees is now more than a million.
The Red Crescent alone provided Dh42.487m in aid last year, which went towards building the biggest field hospital in Jordan, and bringing in ambulance cars and housing refugees.
The UAE pledged an additional Dh1.1bn in January at the International Donors Conference for Syria held in Kuwait. It was the joint-largest donation along with offers from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
In these countries the majority of aid was directed towards humanitarian assistance, but in other parts of the world aid was given to promote development. In Africa, Dh83.7m was given to Egypt, followed by Dh42.4m to Tunisia and Dh33m to Algeria.
Funds passed to Egypt were used for housing developments, cancer treatment and support for orphans. In Tunisia funds were used for medical supplies and mobile hospitals.
In East Africa, aid was given to Tanzania (Dh32.7m), Seychelles (Dh21.6m), Kenya (Dh10.1m), and Uganda (Dh9.2m). Most of the funds were used in developmental projects. Other countries among the top 10 helped by the UAE in 2011 include Kazakhstan (Dh315m), Pakistan (Dh277m), Afghanistan (Dh149m), Palestine (Dh124m), and Bahrain (Dh140m).
Beyond the Middle East and Africa, aid was given to Australia (Dh118m), the US (Dh110m), and the UK (Dh48m) among others.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's development assistance commission last year ranked the UAE in 16th place globally - tied with Portugal - for donating 0.27 per cent of its Gross National Income to foreign assistance.
osalem@thenational.ae
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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
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
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.”
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Raghida, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Alareeq, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 2,200m
Winner: Basmah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Liwa Oasis Group 2 (PA) Dh300,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: SS Jalmod, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Trolius, Ryan Powell, Simon Crisford
The%20specs%20
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SPEC%20SHEET
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The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Population: 44.13 million
Armed conflict in Donbass
Russia-backed fighters control territory
Company%20profile
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Brief scores:
Arsenal 4
Xhaka 25', Lacazette 55', Ramsey 79', Aubameyang 83'
Fulham 1
Kamara 69'
RESULTS
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UAE%20SQUAD
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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