ABU DHABI // Mahmoud al Dalki stood beside the cream-coloured stone building and gestured towards its domed roof, saying that the uppermost portion of the new Palestinian Embassy is meant to invoke the iconic image of Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock, or Qubbat al Sakhra.
"I want anyone who sees this dome to know that this is the Palestinian Embassy," said Mr al Dalki, a veteran staff member of the embassy.
It was on the very same site in 1989 that thousands of people, including Mr al Dalki, who was 28 years old at the time, looked on as Sheikh Zayed, the late President of the UAE, and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat laid the compound's cornerstone.
During the ceremony, Arafat also buried soil he brought from the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, according to Mr al Dalki, 49, whose family is originally from Tiberius, in what is now northern Israel.
More than two decades after work on the compound began, the new Palestinian Embassy - a 4,000-square-metre plot in the central embassy district - finally opened its doors this month. It cost Dh16 million, and occupies land designated by the Government in the early 1980s.
"We didn't have any land or anything, and we now want the people to know this is for Palestine," said Mr al Dalki.
Before embassy staff moved into the building this month, they worked out of a rundown, one-storey building on Sudan Street in the centre of the capital. The new structure is composed mainly of light stone, imported from West Bank quarries around Bethlehem.
The site of the new embassy lay empty for many years, primarily because of a lack of funds for its construction. Work was also interrupted by the Gulf War.
Then, four years ago, Dr Khairi al Oridi was named the Palestinian ambassador to the UAE, and he began to raise funds from the Palestinian community here and abroad to help finish the building.
"I started this job four years ago, and directly when I arrived I decided we have to have this new embassy," he said. "It was not easy, but I am very happy to do something for my people and my country. The UAE is always supporting the Palestinians, all the time, so we had to have a good embassy in Abu Dhabi."
The project was also given a boost in 2008, when Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, the President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, donated Dh8m towards construction costs.
After working for nearly three decades in the old embassy compound, Tamam Bashir entered her new office for the first time one week ago. The 51-year-old was also among the thousands of people who gathered at the site more than two decades ago for the laying of the cornerstone.
"I remember that day, when Sheikh Zayed said 'Inshallah, we will make an embassy here'," she said. "That day was very happy, and now we have a very nice embassy. For us it represents Palestine."
The embassy will provide a slate of services to the UAE's Palestinian community, which is estimated to be around 100,000 strong, according to Hamed Mutair, a counsellor at the embassy.
"It is so important, because it is about Palestine," said Mr Mutair, seated in his airy office. "People from the community are sending us congratulations and everyone is happy. It's been a long time."
While the staff moved in earlier this month and the embassy is operational, the overall site is still not complete. Workers continued to buzz around the second floor of the building yesterday, which will eventually house the ambassador's office. The complex is expected to be complete in the next couple of months, said Lana Shayeb, 27, one of the newest members of staff.
Born in the UAE, Ms Shayeb lived for several years in Jenin, in the West Bank, her family's home town, but has never been able to travel to Jerusalem, the site of the Dome of the Rock. Glancing up at the ornate ceiling of the embassy's Al Quds Hall, she said: "When I just look at the dome I feel like I am in Palestine. I feel like it's my country."
zconstantine@thenational.ae
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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.”
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
EA%20Sports%20FC%2024
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MATCH INFO
FA Cup fifth round
Chelsea v Manchester United, Monday, 11.30pm (UAE), BeIN Sports
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST
Premier League
Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm
Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm
Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm
Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm
Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)
Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm
Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm
Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm
Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm
Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm
Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm
Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm
Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm
Company%20Profile
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Fixtures
Sunday, December 8, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v USA
Monday, December 9, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – USA v Scotland
Wednesday, December 11, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v Scotland
Thursday, December 12, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v USA
Saturday, December 14, ICC Academy, Dubai – USA v Scotland
Sunday, December 15, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v Scotland
Note: All matches start at 10am, admission is free
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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