Britain sees ‘synergies’ with the UAE
UK’s exports to the UAE to exceed £12 billion by 2015
Dubai: The United Kingdom expects its exports to the UAE — its biggest trading partner in the Middle East — to exceed £12 billion (Dh68 billion) in two years, up from the existing £11 billion, a top official said.
More than 9,500 British exporters have a presence in the UAE while the size of the British expatriate community has exceeded the 100,000 mark, he said.
A move to waive visas to enter the UK for nationals of a number of countries, including those of the UAE, is under review by the British government. “Yes, it’s being considered and awaiting a decision,” Edward Hobart, British Consul General in Dubai told Gulf News.
He said Britain seeks to increase its engagement in regional affairs, defence and commercial area. “We see great synergies between the two countries in all these fields,” he said.
Britain is pushing for the sale of 60 BAE Systems-backed Eurofighter Typhoon jets to the UAE — a multi-billion dollar deal which is severely contested by France’s Dassault Rafale jets. Both British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande have visited the UAE to pursue the deal in recent months.
“More than 250,000 people from the UAE visit the UK every year generating £467 million worth of economic value,” Hobart said, on the sidelines of the inauguration of Rotork, a British manufacturer of equipment and systems for valve automation and flow control in the oil and gas sector.
Hobart also acknowledged the role of the UAE investment in the UK, especially DP World’s $2.2 billion (Dh8 billion) London Gateway project and Masdar’s participation in the London Array — a large wind farm being constructed to supply 1,000 megawatts of clean and green energy.
“London Gateway is Britain’s first deepwater seaport built in, I think, a century, which will not only create 36,000 jobs, but will reduce a large amount of cargo traffic off the streets,” he said. “This is a shining example of our bilateral relations with the UAE.”
Rotork has set up a product storage, office and service facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone.
With 2,900 employees, the company generates annual turnover of £500 million, said Peter France, Group Chief Executive of Rotork. “This is an important region for us where we see growing opportunities with massive investments coming in the energy sector, especially in Abu Dhabi,” he said.
