American and British withdrawal from the Middle East is likely to lead to yet more instability and conflict over the next decade, the UK’s former minister of international development has said.
Speaking at a conference on the future of Palestine and Britain’s role in the region, Rory Stewart, who served as International Development secretary, offered a gloomy outlook on the consequences of the UK's policy shifts, funding cuts and waning influence in the region.
“We talk a lot about America leaving the Middle East and that's clearly a big phenomenon and one of the things that will lead to increasing instability and interstate conflict in the Middle East within the next decade," Mr Stewart told listeners online. "I fear that it will look more violent than it did at the end of the 20th century, partly because of Americans withdrawing but also the British withdrawal."
The writer and humanitarian, who had a career in foreign affairs before joining government, said Britain had “given up” on investing in the expertise and “deep-country knowledge required from our diplomats” over the last three decades.
“As an example, I remember in 2011 that the number of British ambassadors in the Middle East who spoke fluent Arabic had declined from 13 to three. And the size of our representations in many of these places have shrunk and continued to shrink,” Mr Stewart said.
During an online talk with Vincent Fean, chair of the Balfour Project charity that put on the conference, Abandoning Palestine, Mr Stewart lamented the UK’s absence in the Palestine peace process. He said this had “now been reduced further by the current foreign secretary” and criticised an overall “diminution of British presence”.
“Less investment in the BBC World Service, less investment in the British Council, a less visible presence in terms of offering scholarships," he added.
“I would like to see, for example, Britain investing strongly in cultural heritage in Palestine. I would love to see investments in Bethlehem in traditional crafts, but also in Hebron and Nablus. I think there is extraordinary heritage under threat and I think Britain has an incredible strength in protecting landscapes."
Mr Stewart, who has lived in Amman for two years while working on a development project with the Turquoise Mountain charity he co-founded, singled out Jordan as an “exception” to the UK’s waning interest in the region.
“I think Jordan is maybe quite an interesting example of a place where Britain is still demonstrating quite a wide range of cultural, military, diplomatic and political engagements; deepening the relationships between the royal families, thinking about how to do development projects, and investing in renewable energy. So there are exceptions,” he said.
“It is absolutely vital” that Britain and the European Union fill in some of the gaps left by the US withdrawal, Mr Stewart said. However, he is worried that Britain’s recent “tilt towards Asia Pacific” is reinforcing “America's obsession with a confrontation with China”, which meant “abandoning Africa, Europe and the Middle East.”
Last year, the UK dropped its pledge to devote 0.7 per cent of its GDP — £4.6 billion ($5.7bn) — to international development. The war in Ukraine has further diverted the already reduced funds from humanitarian crises in places such as Yemen and Syria.
“The cuts to the British attache department have been particularly brutal, partly because they were cut at a time when an enormous amount of money was already pre-committed to different multilateral institutions,” Mr Stewart said.
“So almost overnight, Britain, which has been steadily increasing its bilateral presence in 30 countries, found itself suddenly unable to continue programmes that everybody assumed would expand.”
The challenge for Britain now is “rebuilding the country’s international development capacity”. However, the adventurer said that domestic concerns over costs of living need serious and immediate attention.
The war in Ukraine had “punched a hole in the global trading system” and increased the “pressure” on the UK to develop technology to decrease its dependence on others, albeit at a high cost. The result would mean a more inward looking politics and economic outlook.
“We have been the beneficiaries for the last few decades of a very, very open trading system, where we relied on importing an enormous number of goods from China. And, of course, it's turned out that an enormous amount of our food and fertiliser comes from Russia and the surrounding countries," he noted. “Now we are moving into a world in which there will be much more pressure for us to develop our own independent technology, to grow more of our own food, to make ourselves energy independent. And all of that will come with an immense economic costs; it will increase prices to consumers dramatically, which will have a deep effect on the cost of living and inflation in the developed world, but will also lead to terrible poverty and suffering.”
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal.
Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson.
Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Qualifier A, Muscat
(All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv)
Fixtures
Friday, February 18: 10am Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm Semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm Final
UAE squad:Ahmed Raza(captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
How to book
Call DHA on 800342
Once you are registered, you will receive a confirmation text message
Present the SMS and your Emirates ID at the centre
DHA medical personnel will take a nasal swab
Check results within 48 hours on the DHA app under ‘Lab Results’ and then ‘Patient Services’
Results
57kg quarter-finals
Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Hamed Al Matari (YEM) by points 3-0.
60kg quarter-finals
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) RSC round 2.
63.5kg quarter-finals
Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Shamlan A Othman (KUW) by points 3-0.
67kg quarter-finals
Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Ahmad Ondash (LBN) by points 2-1.
71kg quarter-finals
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) defeated Lalthasanga Lelhchhun (IND) by points 3-0.
Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Seyed Kaveh Safakhaneh (IRI) by points 3-0.
81kg quarter-finals
Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Ahmad Hilal (PLE) by points 3-0
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor
Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
