A senior Irish minister is leading an official trade visit to the UAE and Qatar this week as the country aims to boost exports to the Gulf region.
The visit of Robert Troy, Ireland’s Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, comes as exports by Enterprise Ireland-supported companies to the UAE rose by 15 percent last year.
The trade visit, organised by Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Government’s trade and innovation agency, aims to boost the trade collaboration with the region and to support an accelerated economic recovery emerging from the global pandemic for Ireland.
At the centre of the visit was the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) and Dubai Solar Show 2021 held in Dubai as Ireland is a fast-growing international hub for cleantech through an ecosystem of highly innovative businesses.
The Middle East region, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, provides significant opportunities for Irish green innovators who can help local partners solve their sustainability challenges through cutting-edge innovation, digitisation, quality, compliance, and future focused energy reduction methods and conservation technology.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Troy said: “I am delighted to be leading this trade visit. Ireland and the UAE share social, cultural, and economic interests which are built on strong bonds of friendship and our shared value of innovation and its importance to future progress.
“As well as being home to around 11,000 Irish people, the UAE continues to provide a strong and growing market opportunity for Irish companies with a demand for leading innovation. Last year alone, exports by EI-supported companies to the UAE increased by 15 percent, continuing the trend of year on year growth”.
“The Middle East region is thriving with opportunities for Irish companies to deliver their competitive advantage, built on a strong reputation for delivering industry leading expertise and innovation. Our trade visit will look to strengthen this relationship further by using the Irish Advantage to build partnerships, win business, and power mutual growth,” he added.
Accompanying Minister Troy on the trade visit, Kevin Sherry, executive director of Enterprise Ireland, said: “Over 475 Enterprise Ireland client companies are seeing the growing opportunities of the UAE and Arab wider region.
“Across cleantech, fintech, and medtech, Irish companies are being supported by our Enterprise Ireland team to grow the commercial opportunities even further.”
With 40 international offices worldwide, Enterprise Ireland has four offices across the GCC, in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh.
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