For most of the world, caught in the grip of a pandemic, 2021 has been a year of inching painfully in the direction of progress. For Palestine, it has been a year of a few steps forward, many steps back.
Sunday saw a forward step, when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hosted Israel’s Health Minister, Nitzan Horowitz, in the West Bank. Mr Horowitz is now the second high-level Israeli official to meet Mr Abbas since the formation of Israel's new government, after Defence Minister Benny Gantz did so in August. After Sunday's meeting, Mr Horowitz posted on his Twitter account: "We have a shared mission: to preserve the hope for peace on the basis of a two-state solution.”
A two-state solution would represent much more than a step; it would be a titanic leap forward. After more than seven decades of tragedy, it remains the most just and feasible end to the conflict. Unfortunately, Mr Horowitz’s tweet is no indicator of a sea change. Palestinian and Israeli peace advocates, along with the majority of the international community, have long pushed hard for it, only to be pushed back by the conservative wing of Israeli politics.
As Palestine’s dreams of sovereignty are dashed, its humanitarian situation only grows worse. On Friday, the UN agency in charge of helping Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, was forced to appeal for an urgent $120 million, as a result of what it called a "real existential threat to the organisation". The agency oversees education for 550,000 children, health care for thousands and other essential social services where there are populations of Palestinian refugees.
The US administration under Joe Biden has renewed its support of UNRWA to the tune of $235 million after its predecessor withdrew funding, but the agency's finances have been hit by a wider reduction in donations from other countries as the world struggles with the economic consequences of the pandemic.
Keeping Palestinian society moving is more important than ever, particularly after 2020, which the UN called the worst year for Palestinians in 30 years. Palestine's economy shrank by 11.5 per cent, and more than 66,000 of its people lost their jobs. The main cause of this is the pandemic, which will carry on being a burden for Palestine as it struggles to implement the many strategies needed to control the virus.
It is quite something if 2020 was the worst year during three decades of war, economic crisis and ongoing encroachment of Palestinian sovereignty. It highlights the need for more meetings such as August's between Mr Abbas and Mr Gantz, which are more than surface-level attempts to signal the end of the hawkish Netanyahu era. Today, new frameworks are in place to push real change; Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the US, recently told The National that the Abraham Accords would continue to thrive under President Joe Biden.
If meetings do genuinely intend to make the situation better, then both parties must make a renewed and genuine push towards peace.
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
57%20Seconds
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%C2%A0profile
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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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
