UAE Cabinet Minister hails new links with developing countries, saying, 'We would love to go to space with Africa'
Right from the start, Michael Milken showed why the conference bears his name as he opened the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit on Thursday in Abu Dhabi.
Drawing from his wide range of contacts, the Wall Street legend probed princes, investors and CEOs on “Navigating a Changing Global Economy” in the grand ballroom at Abu Dhabi’s St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort.
Milken focused on the region’s galloping pace of growth, citing reports that “the wealth of the Middle East and Africa has reached 67% of the wealth of the Americas.” The dramatic change that has occurred in the last two decades, he said, shows “the importance of the Middle East as a provider of capital to the world.”
The billionaire financial guru will also wrap up the conference during its final session on Friday when Milken interviews Khaldoon Al Mubarak, CEO and Managing Director of the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund and a member of Abu Dhabi’s Executive Council.
Just before the opening bell, it was announced that Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States, woulld drop by Saadiyat Island for a 20-minute conversation focusing on women’s health care, one of her main initiatives in the White House.
Investment bankers, hedge fund managers and bond traders always form the core of Milken summits. Among those taking part in the Abu Dhabi edition are Guggenheim Partners’ Alan Schwartz, Golub Capital’s Lawrence Golub, Goldman Sachs’ Stephanie Rader, Eldridge Industries’ Todd Boelhy, TCW’s Katie Koch and Brightstar Capital’s Andrew Weinberg.
Responding to Milken in the opening session, Mohamed Mansour, the Egyptian founder and Chairman of London-based Man Capital, said education and jobs are the central need in the region.
“We are facing the biggest change since the 19th century,” he said. “We had the industrial revolution and now we have AI. What assets do we have? The youth. So we have to foster that change and give people a chance.”
Prince Turki Al Faisal, Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies and a former ambassador to the U.S., added: “More and more education is what we need in our part of the world. There is just too much destruction… and our world community must come together to stop the fighting.”
Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of State for African Affairs, said that the UAE is built on partnership with less developed parts of the world and is working to bring other countries into its orbit. “When we go in Africa, we do not have a checkout date,” he said, adding, “We would love to go to space with Africa.”
Also at the Summit was a touch of Hollywood in the person of actor Edward Norton, who spoke about “The Art of Storytelling,” accompanied by Elie Saab Jr., CEO of Lebanese couture house Elie Saab.