Vince Cable has embarked on his first trip as Business Secretary to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to boost trade with the region and encourage more inward investment into the UK.
The two-day trip, to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forms part of efforts to meet UK Trade and Investment's (UKTI) target of increasing bilateral trade with the UAE in goods and services to £12bn by 2015. Current trade and investment levels are on track to meet those targets, reaching £10 billion in 2012.
On the first day of his trip Vince Cable will encourage businesses in the UAE to invest in the UK by launching a new UKTI Gulf Investment team, sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The taskforce will be headed by accountants' firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and will find 100 new investment opportunities which will lead to 15 concrete investment projects from Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE by the end of March 2015.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
"Growth remains our country's top priority. Encouraging firms to export more to emerging economies has formed a key part of the government's industrial strategy - helping us stay ahead of the competition in key sectors where we are global leaders.
"UK exports of goods to the United Arab Emirates were up 11 per cent until September last year, generating over £6 billion - a major success story for our commercial partnership.
"The UAE's long-term prospects remain strong and I am looking forward to meeting with businesses and key decision makers to take forward British interests in my first visit to the country."
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