Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has nominated former nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi as foreign minister, state media announced on Sunday.
Parliamentary commissions will meet on Monday to discuss the cabinet nominations, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said.
Candidates will have to be approved by Parliament before taking office, in hearings scheduled for the end of August.
Mr Araghchi was a chief negotiator for Iran in nuclear talks with western powers between 2013 and 2021.
He also served as the ministry's spokesman, political deputy and ambassador to Finland and Japan. He was also the first head of Iran's mission to the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation.
If approved, he would take over from Ali Bagheri Kani, who served as interim Foreign Minister after predecessor Hossein Amirabdollahian was killed in a helicopter crash alongside former president Ebrahim Raisi in May.
Their deaths triggered a June election won by Mr Pezeshkian, a reformist candidate who has since appointed Mohammad Javad Zarif – former foreign minister and also a leading nuclear negotiator – as his Vice President for strategic affairs.
Mr Pezeshkian also proposed former air force chief Gen Aziz Nasirzadeh as defence minister and Eskandar Momeni, a relatively moderate police general, as interior minister, according to a list of nominees published by state news agency Irna.
Farzaneh Sadegh, a director in the Ministry of Roads and Housing, would become only the second woman minister since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution if parliament approves Mr Pezeshkian's proposal to put her in charge.
Mohsen Paknejad, a former official in the National Iranian Oil Company, was named as Oil Minister.
Mr Pezeshkian proposed to retain Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib and Justice Minister Amin Hossein Rahimi, while moving Industries Minister Abbas Aliabadi to head the Energy Ministry.
On Saturday, he reappointed Mohammad Eslami as chief of Iran’s civilian nuclear programme and one of several Vice Presidents.
Mr Pezeshkian was inaugurated two weeks ago in a ceremony overshadowed by the suspected Israeli assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps guesthouse hours later.
Iran has vowed a direct attack against Israel in return, prompting a flurry of diplomatic efforts to prevent the war from further regional spillover.
Israel has not taken responsibility for the strike which killed Mr Haniyeh.
Mr Pezeshkian has signalled an interest in better relations with the West – a departure from Mr Raisi, an ultraconservative who was a strong proponent of advancing Iran's nuclear ambitions and preferred to enhance relations with regional allies and partners in Africa and Latin America.
However, the president does not hold the ultimate authority in Iran – reserved for Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who continues to speak out against the West, namely the US, over the war in Gaza.
With reporting from agencies
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Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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.”
Liverpool’s fixtures until end of 2019
Saturday, November 30, Brighton (h)
Wednesday, December 4, Everton (h)
Saturday, December 7, Bournemouth (a)
Tuesday, December 10, Salzburg (a) CL
Saturday, December 14, Watford (h)
Tuesday, December 17, Aston Villa (a) League Cup
Wednesday, December 18, Club World Cup in Qatar
Saturday, December 21, Club World Cup in Qatar
Thursday, December 26, Leicester (a)
Sunday, December 29, Wolves (h)
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Score
Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)
Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
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Brief scoreline:
Tottenham 1
Son 78'
Manchester City 0
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5