BAGHDAD // A patched together coalition government, Iraq's second under the leadership of the prime minister, Nouri al Maliki, was formally approved by parliament yesterday after nine months of political deadlock.
In a vote televised live to the nation, MPs approved a compromise administration of 29 ministers, in addition to Mr al Maliki at the helm. The Cabinet was immediately sworn in and a broad political agenda of anti-terrorism and economic reform agreed upon.
The new government includes members of all of Iraq's major political, sectarian and ethnic groups, including Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
There is a deliberate division of jobs that reflects the predominately sectarian, rather than nationalist, dialogue against which the March elections were fought.
Mr al Maliki yesterday pointed to the problems he faced - and continues to face - in putting together a national unity administration designed to sustain a highly factional and fragile coalition, rather than simply building a majority-based government as he had wanted. Inconclusive election results meant no single party was in a dominant enough position to achieve a majority.
"The most difficult task in the world is forming a national unity government in a country where there is a diversity of ethnic, sectarian and political backgrounds," he told parliament, before his administration was approved.
"I do not say that this government, with all its formations, satisfies its citizens' aspiration, nor the political blocs', nor my ambition, nor any other person's ambition, because it is formed … in extraordinary circumstances."
The full 42-member Cabinet has still not been finalised - with numerous ministerial-level posts filled temporarily - a delay caused in part by the delicate balancing act required in placating all the coalition partners vying for influence.
Some of the blocs that were promised government jobs had failed to agree internally on who to nominate, a sign of the infighting that characterises Iraqi politics.
Mr al Maliki and his closest allies appear to have taken the lion's share of the ministerial spoils, as anticipated. The prime minister, in addition to his leadership of the Cabinet, also personally commands all the key security portfolios, including defence and the interior. It is an unprecedented concentration of power that was approved by the 325-member parliament - including the very parties that in the past have accused him of dictatorial ambitions and excessive centralisation of authority.
He was granted open-ended control of the security ministries, with no deadline set for appointing the ministers of defence, interior and national security.
Hussain al Shahristani, an ally of Mr al Maliki and the former oil minister, was made the deputy prime minister for energy, a role that should see him continuing to shape the critical area of oil policy. The country sits on one of the world’s largest reserves of oil, and a rapid increase in output is crucial in order to pay for much needed reconstruction efforts.
Iraqiyya, Mr al Maliki’s main rival for power, also picked up a series of strong government positions, including the importantfinance ministry, placed under the control of Rafie al Esawi.
Salah al Mutlaq, a leading Iraqiyya figure who was controversially banned from standing for parliament before the March elections only to be reinstated this week, was also made a deputy prime minister. Iraqiyya members were appointed to lead the
ministries of agriculture, education, industry and science.
"We as the Iraqiyya bloc declare our full support for this government," said Ayad Allawi, the bloc's leader and Mr al Maliki's main rival for the premiership. "Iraqiyya will play an active, productive and co-operative role."
Other groups, including the Sadrists and Kurds, fared less well in terms of the numbers of ministries and relative power of their posts, despite being important planks of Mr al Maliki’s coalition.
The Kurds took the ministry of health, retained the foreign ministry under Hoshyar Zebari and, in Jalal Talabani, continue to hold the presidency, although that post has been significantly weakened since the expiration of its previous veto powers.
In yesterday’s partial Cabinet announcement, the Sadrists, who played a major role in Mr al Maliki successfully being chosen as premier, picked up only three ministerial positions – the relatively minor portfolios of works and planning, housing and development, plus one minister of state.
The United States had been nervous about the potential role in the new government of the Sadrist movement, headed by the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr.
Amer al Kinani, a Sadrist MP, criticised the make-up of the administration and said many of those put forward for Cabinet posts were not suitably qualified. But he stopped short of criticising the prime minister, instead placing blame on his coalition partners.
“Mr al Maliki was pushed by time pressures to accept most of the nominees without being able to properly study their CVs,” he said. “We hope these ministers will work hard for the future of Iraq – we will be watching them in the coming weeks and months.”
In addition to concern about the competence of the national coalition government, there were protests in parliament yesterday about the absence of any women in the Cabinet.
Mr al Maliki placed the blame on the parties and said he had only received one woman nominee, who was rejected because she was not qualified.
There were other dissenting voices inside parliament, including the Kurdish opposition “Change” list which, according to one of its MPs yesterday, decided to withdraw from the national unity government.
“Al Maliki did not give us a representative share of the Cabinet,” said Chian Mohammad. “Our election results meant we should have two ministries, but we were offered only one, so we are pulling out of the government.”
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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.
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The specs
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Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
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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.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Virtuzone GCC Sixes
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
Groups
A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
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
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
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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
