Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Sunday that Qatar’s calls to “internationalise” the management of holy sites in Mecca and Medina was a declaration of war.
"Qatar's request to internationalise the holy sites is something we consider an aggressive act and a declaration of war against Saudi Arabia,” Adel Al Jubeir told Al Arabiya.
“Saudi Arabia reserves the right to respond to any party working in the field of internationalisation of the holy sites."
Mr Al Jubeir appeared to be referring to a statement on Saturday by Qatar’s National Human Rights Commission which said Qataris had been told by Saudi Haj authorities that they could only enter the kingdom through designated airports and must fly from Doha, restrictions it termed a “violation of international laws”.
The Qatari body did not appear to directly call for international management of the holy sites, as Iran’s supreme leader did last year after a dispute over Haj visas for pilgrims. But suggestions by Qatari media or other figures about the “internationalisation” of Haj management are highly inflammatory, not only for Riyadh but Saudi citizens as well.
“Such things are usually said by the Iranians and whoever speaks this way is following the Iranian example,” Bahrain’s foreign minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said in Manama after a meeting of the four countries isolating Qatar over what they say is its support for terrorist groups and extremism. “This is not acceptable.”
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Read more:
Quartet to open air corridors to Qatar for emergencies
Qatar crisis: What you need to know
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Speaking after the talks by the four foreign ministers, Mr Al Jubeir said the kingdom “welcomes all Muslims from around the world who visit the country for their pilgrimage”.
He said the Qatari statement “aims to sway people’s attention from the core issue at the heart of this crisis — its support and funding of terrorism, and a rhetoric that aims to spread hatred and sedition and its interference in the internal affairs of other countries — it is politicising Haj and that is not acceptable.”
The meeting in Manama was the second held by the quartet this month and was aimed at agreeing on what next steps to take after Doha’s rejection of their initial demands.
At a joint press conference held after the talks, the quartet officials said that they are ready to negotiate with Qatar, but only over the implementation of their original 13 demands and the six broader principles that many observers believed had replaced the specific demands to allow for more diplomatic flexibility.
The 13 demands on Doha include dropping its support for Islamist groups, closing the Turkish military base on its soil and shutting down media outlets it finances.
“When we are talking about dialogue, the six principles and 13 demands presented by the quartet are not subject to negotiation, there should be no negotiation when it comes to countering terrorism,” Mr Al Jubeir said at the press conference.
The quartet did not, however, announce any additional economic isolation measures to increase pressure on Doha.
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said that “there are several measures that we can take towards Qatar … within the frame of international law”. UAE officials have said they will not take steps that force international companies to choose where they do business in the GCC, and with such measures off the table it is unclear what additional economic levers would be used.
“We did our best for those measures not to affect the Qatari people, however, and unfortunately, some of these measures did impact the Qatari people,” Sheikh Abdullah said. “The responsibility here lies with the Qatari government. The Qatari government can simply evolve in its Arab environment. But it must make a choice for the sake of its people and their future.”
The UAE’s ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba said last week that the the crisis between the GCC members was fundamentally about two conflicting visions for the region, with the quartet favouring strong, secular states, and Doha backing Islamist parties and militias.
The uncompromising stance on the demands reiterated by the officials in Bahrain is in line with a string of recent statements that have doused any optimism over Kuwait-led mediation efforts backed heavily by US involvement, while at the same time not escalating further.
Speaking on a US current affairs programme, Mr Al Otaiba said last week that Qatar has “every right to come back tomorrow and say we reject these demands and we don’t want to negotiate. And we are then within our rights to say we don’t want to have a relationship with you.”
The willingness to let the “cold war” situation between Qatar and its three GCC neighbours continue has raised the possibility that the new normal could last indefinitely, and Qatar may face de facto suspension from the bloc.
"We want our six countries to remain cohesive members of the GCC," Sheikh Khalid said. "But, we do not want to see any country interfering on others’ affairs or having a negative impact on other countries."
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ten10 Cricket League
Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17
Teams
Maratha Arabians Leading player: Virender Sehwag; Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan
Bengal Lions Leading player: Sarfraz Ahmed; Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad
Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider
Pakhtoons Leading player: Shahid Afridi; Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider
Punjabi Legends Leading player: Shoaib Malik; Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah
Team Sri Lanka Cricket Will be made up of Colombo players who won island’s domestic limited-overs competition
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.”
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
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Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
