Dubai John Hawkins, a former Consul General and Head of the British Embassy in Dubai, has expressed delight at his appointment as adviser to Ascot Racecourse and The Jockey Club on Middle Eastern matters.
“The UK enjoys a very strong historic relationship with the countries of the Gulf Region, one that continues to grow and flourish,” he said. “Our shared love of horse racing is an important element of this relationship.
“During my time as British Consul General in Dubai and Ambassador in Doha I worked hard to strengthen existing links and build new connections. I am delighted to have the opportunity to carry on this work with Ascot and The Jockey Club.
“My family and I enjoyed four great years in Dubai. One of the highlights undoubtedly was the opportunity to go racing regularly,” he added. “I admire everything that Dubai has achieved under the leadership of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai and I know that British racing fully appreciates his tremendous support over so many years as well as that of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and so many others from Dubai.
“I am delighted that this new role will give me the opportunity to keep in touch with old friends and, hopefully, do my bit to strengthen even further the racing relationship between our two countries.”
Simon Bazalgette, Group Chief Executive for The Jockey Club, commented: “John’s experience and knowledge of the Middle East will prove invaluable to both of our organisations and help us to build on the extensive and diverse relationships that already exist in the region, especially in but not limited to Dubai and Qatar.”
Guy Henderson, Chief Executive at Ascot, added: “We look forward to working with John. Building on valued relationships in the Middle East will, we hope, lead to mutual benefits.”
