Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday arrived in the UAE for the start of a two-day state visit.
Mr Widodo was greeted by a UAE delegation led by President Sheikh Mohamed at the Presidential Airport in Abu Dhabi, state news agency Wam reported.
Sheikh Mohamed's delegation included Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, and Abdulla Al Dhaheri, the UAE's ambassador to Indonesia.
The two leaders will hold high-level talks, focused on bolstering strategic ties between the friendly nations.
The plane carrying Mr Widodo was met by a number of Emirati military aircraft as it entered UAE airspace.
The Indonesian President spoke warmly of his country's ties with the UAE and his own relationship with Sheikh Mohamed, in an interview with The National carried out ahead of his visit to the Emirates.
He said he looked forward to seeing the UAE-Indonesian partnership “expand into new sectors like the clean energy and electric vehicles and also the new capital Nusantara”, in East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo.
“Nusantara reflects Indonesia's transformation through a new way of working and a new mindset that is smarter, greener and sustainable,” he said, adding that he has invited Emirati investors to visit the site.
Discussions between Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Widodo will include the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) signed between the countries in July 2022, which is seen as a vital part of joint efforts to advance sustainable development.
At the time, Sheikh Mohamed said the agreement would usher in "a new era of increased trade, investment and economic co-operation".
The pact has been in force since August 2023.
Mr Widodo is due to step down from office in October, marking the end of his second and final term as president.
Close ties
The allies are expected to bolster links in nuclear energy, investment and financial sectors as part of the state visit.
Mr Widodo's visit is a landmark moment in a long-standing friendship spanning 47 years.
UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, visited Indonesia in 1990, a tour which was viewed as pivotal to relations, Wam said on Tuesday.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, emphasised during his chairing of the UAE-Indonesia Joint Committee in Abu Dhabi in 2023 that the two countries have co-ordinated closely in vital sectors such as renewable energy, tourism, aviation, agriculture, food security, infrastructure, transportation, health, artificial intelligence, education, and culture.
Looking to the future
The UAE-Indonesia Cepa is expected to boost the value of bilateral non-oil trade from $4.08 billion to more than $10 billion within five years.
The agreement is also projected to raise the combined value of trade in services between the countries to $630 million by 2030.
More than 80 per cent of UAE exports to Indonesia will now be exempt from customs duties.
In June 2023, the UAE's DP World announced it would begin operations at Indonesia’s Belawan New Container Terminal (BNCT), after finalising an agreement with the Indonesia Investment Authority and state-owned port operator Pelindo to manage the terminal and expand its capacity.
The tripartite partnership aims to establish Indonesia’s most direct link with the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
Shared vision
Both countries are also home to their own Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Solo, on the Indonesian island of Java, was named in tribute to the UAE Founding Father.
It was opened by Sheikh Mohamed and his Indonesian counterpart Mr Widodo in November 2022.
Green links
Another aspect of the close bond between the nations is the joint commitment towards the environment.
Work began in May on a new mangrove research centre in Indonesia, in collaboration with the UAE.
The Mohamed bin Zayed-Joko Widodo International Mangrove Research Centre will be built on 2.5 hectares of land in Bali's Ngurah Rai Forest Park, bolstered by the UAE's $10 million investment.
The research centre was first announced at last year's Cop28 climate change conference in Dubai.
Sheikh Mohamed visits Indonesia in 2022 - in pictures
Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Widodo had moved to further strengthen bilateral ties when the UAE leader attended the G20 Summit in Indonesia in November 2022.
A raft of agreements included co-operation on infrastructure development, artificial intelligence and other environmental issues.
The two allies agreed to working closely to boost cybersecurity during the 2022 talks, while a grant agreement was struck on the financing of a tuberculosis control programme in Indonesia.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Indonesia's Kilang Pertamina Internasional forged a partnership in the petrochemical sector and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, more widely known as Masdar, set out plans to join forces with Pertamina Power Indonesia on developing a solar power plant in the Rokan Block.
Other partnerships included a national genome initiatives between Asaren Indonesia and G42 Healthcare, and work on renewable energy and storage between Masdar, the Indonesian Investment Authority and Pertamina Power Indonesia.
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.”
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
