Ireland wants to become gateway for UAE to Europe

Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, says the country wants to become a gateway for the UAE and other Gulf states to the European Union (EU) market.

Speaking at World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, Coveney highlighted the growing Irish community in the UAE and across the Middle East, with the latest figures showing around 16,000 Irish citizens live and work in the GCC, predominantly in the UAE, across various sectors such as education, healthcare, business, banking, hospitality, engineering and accounting.

"We want the UAE, and indeed others in this region like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, to see Ireland as a gateway into the EU market, because we have been very successful at doing that for many multinationals, and for other parts of the world," he said.

The Irish minister drew attention to the investment opportunities in Ireland's renewable energy projects, which will require funding and management partnerships saying, “Ireland will spend close to €100 billion (AED398.50 billion) on building 37 gigawatts of electricity generation capacity offshore on wind farms over the next 25 years.”

He also invited UAE investors to explore public infrastructure projects in transport, housing and ports.

"Ireland is the fastest growing population in the EU, the youngest population with a very vibrant and growing economy," Coveney stressed.