Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, took the oath of office before parliament yesterday vowing to seek peace and stability in the "turbulent" region.
Mr Rouhani urged the West to abandon the "language of sanctions" and insisted dialogue was the only way for the international community to interact with Iran on its nuclear programme. Western countries say Iran wants to build a nuclear weapons capability, a charge Tehran denies.
Mr Rouhani, a moderate religious figure who unexpectedly trounced hardline candidates in June's election, has raised hopes abroad of a political rapprochement between Tehran and the West.
Yesterday, he insisted repeatedly that "moderation" would be the cornerstone of his government of "wisdom and hope". The new president also took his first steps towards governance with the nomination of several cabinet ministers, including a Washington-educated foreign minister.
Mr Rouhani formally assumed office at a ceremony on Saturday in which he received the endorsement of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but his inauguration yesterday was a much more high-profile event.
Millions of Iranians watched live on television and 10 heads of state and representatives from more than 40 countries, including the UAE, attended the ceremony.
It was the first time since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution that foreign leaders were invited to a presidential inauguration, reflecting Mr Rouhani's desire to bring his country in from the cold.
Iran became increasingly isolated during the stormy, eight-year tenure of his pugnacious and polarising predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mr Rouhani, 64, has argued that a breakthrough in Iran's nuclear negotiations with six world powers, including the United States, is vital to reviving the country's sanctions-strapped economy.
But he stressed yesterday there was a need to negotiate "on equal grounds, reciprocal trust-building, mutual respect and reducing hostilities". To cheers from the parliament, he proclaimed Iran would "not surrender to sanctions, nor be threatened by war".
Mr Rouhani was Iran's chief nuclear negotiator a decade ago when Tehran came closest to a deal with the West on its atomic programme. He has backed Iran's right to a civilian nuclear programme while criticising his predecessor's confrontational style on the issue.
Although Ayatollah Khamenei retains the final say on all strategic issues, including the nuclear talks, Mr Rouhani promised at the weekend to do his utmost to ease crippling western sanctions.
Underlining his sense of urgency, he introduced his cabinet picks to parliament yesterday, despite having another two weeks to do so.
The conservative-dominated house now has 10 days to review his nominations, many of them western-educated technocrats.
Signalling his focus on the economy, Mr Rouhani's first appointment was a US-educated businessman, Mohammad Nahavadian, 58, as his chief of staff.
In what observers saw as an olive branch to Washington, he chose Mohammad Javad Zarif, a well regarded US-educated former ambassador to the United Nations, as his foreign minister.
He nominated Bijan Zanganeh to return as oil minister, a post he held in the government of Iran's reformist president Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005.
Mr Rouhani also proposed Mahmoud Alavi, a cleric and former lawmaker, as minister of intelligence and Hossein Dehghan, a former commander in the powerful Revolutionary Guards, as defence minister.
Attending yesterday's ceremony was the European Union's former foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, who represented world powers in nuclear talks with Tehran in the past. In an interview published by Iran's reformist Shargh newspaper yesterday, he described Mr Rouhani as "a politician with insight … with whom one can do business".
The White House said last night that Mr Rouhani would find "a willing partner" in Washington if his government decided "to engage substantively and seriously" in honouring its international obligations and worked towards a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue.
mtheodoulou@thenational.ae
* Additional reporting by the Associated Press
SPECS
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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.”
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
