A peace plan for Yemen will begin with the internationally-recognised government sitting down for talks with the Houthi rebels, but its success can be ensured only by involving all parties in the war-weary country.
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, told the Security Council last week he would present a peace plan before June 15.
Providing a framework for peace negotiations will deliver on a pledge Mr Griffiths made to the council in his first briefing in April, two months after he was took over from his largely ineffective predecessor, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. He had outlined "good and bad news", saying "a political solution to end this war is indeed available" but that military escalation could "in a single stroke take peace off the table".
Details of the upcoming talks are not known, but Mr Griffiths will have to bring two increasingly bellicose sides to an agreement and maintain peace in a political landscape that the late long-serving president Ali Abdullah Saleh likened to "dancing on the heads of snakes".
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The most important thing, according to Ahmed Harmal, a political analyst in Yemen, is that both sides reach an agreement to stop the fighting.
"The UN is going to bring the Houthis and the Yemeni legitimate government to one table because the international community sees the war has driven the country to the brink," he told The National.
Southern Transitional Council
Mr Harmal said the talks must include the Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist body whose fighters are battling the Houthis alongside government forces.
"The political process comes after, in which the Southern Transitional Council is going to play a big role, as Martin Griffiths promised in his meeting with the STC leaders," he said.
STC supporters have held rallies in Aden calling for their leader, Maj Gen Aidarous Al Zubaidi, to form an independent group to represent them at the peace talks.
Mr Al Zubaidi was appointed governor of Aden in December 2015 but was sacked by President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi in April 2017. Prior to that he led the Southern Resistance group seeking a separate state in south Yemen, which was united with the north in 1990.
Sacking Mr Al Zubaidi created tension between secessionists and the government, which is now based in Aden.
Mr Al Zubaidi has yet to say whether his group wants to be represented independently of Mr Hadi’s government at the peace talks. Although tensions between the two sides have eased since clashes in Aden earlier this year, the STC is likely to create its own negotiating team.
"Mr Griffiths promised that we are going to take part in the coming negotiations. However, Hadi's government is trying so hard to hinder our participation as a representative for the southern Yemenis in the negotiations," a member of the STC political department, Adeeb Al Sayed, told The National.
The Saudi-led Arab Coalition that is fighting on behalf of the government faces the challenge of ensuring that all sides stay united against the Iran-backed rebels.
General People’s Congress
The negotiations will also have to include the General People’s Congress (GPC), the political party created by Saleh during his 33-year rule.
Saleh was removed from office after protests in 2012 but he entered a marriage of convenience with the Houthis after the rebels seized the capital in September 2014. His loyalists worked alongside the Iran-backed rebels until late last year when violence erupted between the two sides.
The clashes in Sanaa led to Saleh being killed by his former allies, and to skirmishes breaking out in areas around the capital. Since then, tens of thousands of Saleh loyalists have defected to the government side.
The GPC has now split, with one faction headed by the late president’s son, Maj Gen Ahmed Ali Saleh, still maintaining a loose alliance with the Houthis and the other, based in Aden, supporting Mr Hadi.
Mr Griffiths has held several meetings with GPC leaders from both factions in Sanaa, Oman and in Abu Dhabi. He has relied on them as a mediating force between the government and rebels and is encouraging them to play a role in the peace process.
"The UN envoy stressed the importance of the role supposed to be played by the GPC party in the peace process and its significant participation in the coming negotiations," Sultan Al Barakani, a senior GPC official, said on Twitter last month.
The GPC plans to form its own team for the upcoming negotiations, unlike in previous peace talks in Geneva and Kuwait where Saleh’s group was represented by the Houthis.
"The situation after killing the president has changed. Our party is going to participate as an independent team, however the Houthis will try to push the [GPC] leaders in Sanaa," Kamel Al Khoudani, a GPC leader in Taez, told The National.
Mr Al Khoudani said Saleh loyalists in Sanaa were likely to interfere in the GPC’s ability to represent itself in the talks by portraying the members outside the capital as unrepresentative of the so-called "true members" who remain aligned to the Houthis.
Houthis
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said in March that the rebels were ready to hold peace talks.
"We are not afraid of anybody, and we are ready to go to the ends of the earth for the negotiations to make peace for our homeland and to stop the devastation and the bloodshed," he said.
Since then, however, the rebels have suffered severe losses of personnel and territory. Earlier this year, the Arab coalition killed Salah Al Sammad, the second in command and the most senior Houthi official still in Yemen.
It is difficult to assess how the Houthi stance on negotiations has been affected by these reversals.
Yet the best chance for reaching a political solution in Yemen remains for both sides to stop fighting, Mr Griffiths has said.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
The biog
Hobby: "It is not really a hobby but I am very curious person. I love reading and spend hours on research."
Favourite author: Malcom Gladwell
Favourite travel destination: "Antigua in the Caribbean because I have emotional attachment to it. It is where I got married."
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
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Afro%20salons
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFor%20women%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESisu%20Hair%20Salon%2C%20Jumeirah%201%2C%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EBoho%20Salon%2C%20Al%20Barsha%20South%2C%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EMoonlight%2C%20Al%20Falah%20Street%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFor%20men%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMK%20Barbershop%2C%20Dar%20Al%20Wasl%20Mall%2C%20Dubai%3Cbr%3ERegency%20Saloon%2C%20Al%20Zahiyah%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3EUptown%20Barbershop%2C%20Al%20Nasseriya%2C%20Sharjah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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.
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
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.
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.”
If you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Chicago from Dh5,215 return including taxes.
The hotels
Recommended hotels include the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, located in an iconic skyscraper complete with a 1929 Olympic-size swimming pool from US$299 (Dh1,100) per night including taxes, and the Omni Chicago Hotel, an excellent value downtown address with elegant art deco furnishings and an excellent in-house restaurant. Rooms from US$239 (Dh877) per night including taxes.
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
