International Trade Expo - Delegation Head to the Gulf
Source:freshbusinessthinking 2014-3-18 9:27:00
Lord Livingston has begun a three day visit to the UAE and Qatar to help cement the position of the UK as a long term trade and investment partner for the Gulf nations.
The UK Trade and Investment Minister is leading a delegation of over 40 UK businesses from the retail, luxury and creative industries to showcase their world-leading products and demonstrate the excellence that the UK has to offer.
During his visit to Dubai, Lord Livingston will attend the first Fortnum & Mason store opening outside of the UK. Many of the UK's most distinguished brands are already located in the UAE, including Thomas Pink, Mulberry, Anya Hindmarch and Stella McCartney.
The UAE is Britain's largest civil export market in the Middle East and the twelfth largest in the world. The UK and UAE Governments have committed to an ambitious target to increase bilateral trade to £12 billion by 2015, which is on track to be achieved.
To encourage more business with the UAE, the UK is opening two new British Business Centres in the country to support Britain's small and mid-sized firms, providing them with a soft landing to test the waters and see if the market is a good fit for their goods or services. UK companies will have access to fully serviced office space at heavily discounted rates and practical support in establishing a presence in the country. The first of the centres will open in Dubai in April, the second will open in Abu Dhabi later this year.