The UAE reacted with scepticism to Qatar's declaration that it was ready to engage in dialogue to end the GCC crisis.
After weeks of silence, the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Thani finally spoke out in a televised address on Friday and admitted it was time for dialogue.
He said Qatar was not afraid of identifying and correcting errors and that the crisis had provided a period of reflection and helped the country to identify its shortcomings.
However, his words failed to convince. The UAE's minister of state for foreign affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash took to Twitter to express his disappointment at the emir's first utterances throughout the crisis.
"I had hoped that Sheikh Tamim's speech would be an invitation for revision [of positions] and an invitation for engagement. Positions are now well-known and repeating them deepens the crisis," he tweeted.
Dr Gargash said the emir's call for dialogue was welcome, as "dialogue is necessary and required". However, dialogue could only happen if Doha made changes.
"Its foundation (needs to be) based on a re-evaluation of Qatar's positions," Dr Gargash wrote.
In the past 48 hours there had seemed to a softening of tone between the two sides with diplomats on the boycotters' side hinting that there was room for compromise on how Qatar could implement their demands, if not on the demands themselves.
Al jazeera TV, which is headquartered in Doha was blocked, as were all its affiliates, including the BeIN spots channels. But on Saturday, BeIN was back on TV sceens in the UAE.
It is now seven weeks since Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt broke off economic, diplomatic and transport links with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing and giving safe haven to terrorists. Since then, a steady parade of mediators from several countries, starting with Kuwait and including the US, Britain, France, Germany and, as of Sunday, Turkey, have shuttled around the Gulf trying to resolve the region's most serious dispute for years.
Some have speculated that the crisis will bring about the end of the GCC - or at least the end of Qatar's membership of of it.
While stating his willingness to finally talk about the crisis, Sheikh Tamim had conditions too. He said his country was open to dialogue if the sovereignty of Qatar were respected.
“The phase that Qatar is going through is very significant in terms of opportunities not only to build, but to fill gaps and correct mistakes," Sheikh Tamim said, speaking in calm, measured tones. "As you know, we are not afraid to analyse a mistake and correct it.”
The address came hours after the United Arab Emirates welcomed Qatar’s move to amend its counter-terrorism laws as a “positive step” toward addressing some of the demands at the heart of a rift that has divided the Gulf for nearly two months.
The quartet of boycotting nations have set out six principles as a basis for any attempt to resolve the crisis. The principles deal broadly with Qatar ending its alleged support for terrorist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, taking real steps to curb the financing of terrorism and reining back relations with Iran, arch-rival of Saudi Arabia.
After signing an agreement to investigate and stop funding terrorist groups, American secretary of state Rex Tillerson also voiced optimism, telling reporters in Washington earlier on Friday that the US was “satisfied with the effort” Qatar is making and urging its neighbours to consider lifting the land boycott as "a sign of good faith".
Rami G Khouri, a professor at the American University of Beirut, said Sheikh Tamim's speech was "forceful, defiant, steadfast but not aggressive or insulting" and also included “significant seeds” that coincide with some of the six broad principles that the quartet have laid out.
Sheikh Tamim said Qatar was willing to take part in a dialogue to find solutions to the disputes, and that he hoped Kuwait’s efforts at mediation would succeed. He also reiterated his government’s stance that it is “fighting terrorism relentlessly and without compromises”.
But this crisis is also about perception. Kamran Bokhari, a senior analyst at Geopolitical Futures, said the government in Doha did not want to appear intransigent. "By being flexible, Qatar is trying to make the other side look bad. In many ways, this has been the Qatari position all along: they will not compromise on their right to pursue an independent foreign policy but are willing to reach a negotiated settlement."
But the emir admitted the boycott was not proving easy and had emphasised the need for an opening of the Qatari economy, which was no longer a luxury but an obligation.
“I don’t want to underestimate the pain and suffering that the blockade has inflicted, and I hope that such an approach in dealing with brothers ends,” Sheikh Tamim said. “This approach has harmed all of the Gulf Corporation Council’s countries and their image in the world.”
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Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
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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"
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
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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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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
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
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
RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
