The United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi and Lord Peter Mandelson, British Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the President of the UK Board of Trade, opened the Emirati-British Businessmen Meeting in the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. The event was organized by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade (MoFT) and was attended by prominent officials and businessmen from both countries. In her opening speech, Sheikha Lubna affirmed the UAE's commitment to strengthening business and investment partnerships with Britain and raising bilateral trade to higher levels in light of the numerous opportunities and strong potentials offered by both countries. Sheikha Lubna pointed out that the UAE currently has 26 free zones that allow full ownership of investment projects, according to a report of the UAE news agency "WAM" H.E. urged British companies to further explore the diverse investment opportunities in the UAE. She referred to the presence of more than 1,000 companies and agencies in the UAE, as well as hundreds more operating in domestic free zones. The minister also discussed the importance of looking ahead and further broadening the base of goods and services exchanged between both their countries. She particularly encouraged greater focus on potential partnerships involving small- and medium-sized enterprises. For his part, Lord Peter Mandelson expressed his country's eagerness to strengthen cooperation with the UAE, pointing out that the Emirates is the commercial gateway of the UK in the region and is a comfortable and excellent place for British companies to do business. He disclosed that Britain plans to boost bilateral exchange to 12 billion British Pound Sterling (GBP) by 2015. The trade official also highlighted the need to act jointly on challenges posed by the global financial crisis in order to protect the common interests of the two friendly nations.
