I was delighted to welcome the UAE Ambassador and his First Secretary to the North East last week. They visited Newcastle and Durham and had a programme of events ranging from a cultural overview given by Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, to lunch at the Baltic Arts Centre with 60 or 70 business guests. They also visited Durham University. His Excellency Almutaiwee and His Highness Al Maktoum were gracious and lively guests and I have received lots of positive feedback about their visit.
The following day they visited the Al Qasimi building in Durham (The School for International and Middle Eastern Studies) before taking part in a business engagement hosted by the County Durham Development Corporation (CDDC) at Durham County Cricket Club and then on to Newcastle International Airport.
The UAE is a fascinating, positive market with lots of cultural developments (check out the Guggenheim development at Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi) and trading opportunities (Mr Saddiqi at the Dubai Chamber has been extremely helpful in the past). It has positive growth GDP and the Ambassador told me that construction and wider opportunities are again growing in UAE. He was delighted to hear about the success of Emirates in flying direct from Newcastle to Dubai. The UAE is a key market for the UK, is business friendly and keen to do more with the UK in every respect .
Its less than seven hours away and brings a whole new perspective to businesses looking to internationalise ………..any businesses in the North East or any other part of the country who want a piece of the action should get in touch with UKTI