{"id":92335,"date":"2018-05-26T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-26T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=6289284d6c4a8af35700f1eb1033c2b3"},"modified":"2018-05-26T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-05-26T08:00:00","slug":"press-release-international-trade-secretary-travels-to-gulf-promoting-investment-and-british-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=92335","title":{"rendered":"Press release: International Trade Secretary travels to Gulf promoting investment and British businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>Gulf countries are strong investors in the UK and this visit will focus on driving further investment and opening up new opportunities for British businesses in the 2 countries. Investment from the United Arab Emirates (<abbr title=\"United Arab Emirates\">UAE<\/abbr>) into the UK was worth \u00a34.3 billion in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>During the 3 day visit, Dr Fox will also meet government and industry representatives from Bahrain and the <abbr title=\"United Arab Emirates\">UAE<\/abbr>, championing the UK\u2019s strong business proposition and its free trading values.<\/p>\n<p>International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I recently launched a bold and ambitious investment programme, building on the UK\u2019s position as the leading destination for foreign investment in Europe and investors from Bahrain and United Arab Emirates will have a great deal to offer.<\/p>\n<p>There is a clear appetite for British goods and services all around the world, and as an international economic department we are encouraging UK businesses to grow by taking advantage of the global opportunities available as we leave the EU.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">From investment projects to export opportunities, million-pound infrastructure deals to evening internet entrepreneurs, the UK is in a great position to trade with the world, creating jobs and prosperity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Trade in goods and services between the UK and <abbr title=\"United Arab Emirates\">UAE<\/abbr> is worth \u00a314.6 billion and is the UK\u2019s fourth largest export market outside of Europe, whilst Bahrain is a country of huge potential with trade already accounting for more than \u00a3740 million.<\/p>\n<p>The visit is a clear demonstration of the importance of the UK\u2019s economic relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council (<abbr title=\"Gulf Cooperation Council\">GCC<\/abbr>) countries, following the creation of the UK-<abbr title=\"Gulf Cooperation Council\">GCC<\/abbr> trade and investment group, aiming to boost British trade in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Driving exports to the Middle East, the Department for International Trade has supported a Dudley furnace manufacturer to secure a \u00a325 million order from Bahrain, helping the firm grow its workforce in the UK. Already exporting to more than 50 countries globally, Mechatherm International has built a customer base of blue chip companies, specialising in the design, manufacture, installation and maintenance of bespoke furnaces used to make aluminium.<\/p>\n<p>Mechatherm\u2019s ongoing success overseas is being celebrated by the <abbr title=\"Department for International Trade\">DIT<\/abbr>\u2019s <a rel=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.great.gov.uk\/\">Exporting is GREAT<\/a> campaign. The campaign showcases 30+ businesses \u2013 from a range of sectors and regions \u2013 to inspire and support companies up and down the country to export.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Fox MP also announced that the UK\u2019s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (<abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr>), will provide \u00a3100 million of financing for the construction of the Dubai World Trade Centre by construction company ASGC UK. Phase 4 of the project will see the construction of a hotel and will generate significant business for UK suppliers. This builds on <abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr>\u2019s support for the earlier phases of the project.<\/p>\n<p><abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr> is also supporting UK businesses to win export contracts in Bahrain by lending or guaranteeing loans in Bahraini Dinar, offering buyers of UK goods the ability to \u2018Buy British, pay local\u2019.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"for-further-information\">For further information<\/h2>\n<p>Contact the <abbr title=\"Department for International Trade\">DIT<\/abbr> Media and Digital Team on 020 7215 2000<\/p>\n<p>Follow us: <a rel=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/tradegovuk\">@tradegovuk<\/a>,  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/dit\">gov.uk\/dit<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr Liam Fox will visit Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates this weekend (26 to 28 May) to promote more than 68 UK projects worth \u00a330 billion to investors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92335\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}