Ireland’s Minister For Trade Promotion Robert Troy To Lead Enterprise Ireland Trade Visit To The Gulf Countries Of The United Arab Emirates And Qatar
Reaffirming the importance of trade between Ireland and the Middle East region, Robert Troy T.D, Ireland’s Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, will next week visit the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
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 busy schedule for Minister Troy will be the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) and Dubai Solar Show 2021 held in Dubai between 5 – 7 October. For the past 22 years, WETEX has become one of the largest and most important specialised exhibitions and an annual event attended by organisations from the energy, water, environment, oil, gas, green development and related sectors from the region and the world. During the event, Minister Troy will meet with the Irish companies hosted by Enterprise Ireland on the Ireland country pavilion that will be promoting some of the best Irish innovation across the cleantech sector.
Ireland is a fast-growing international hub for cleantech through an ecosystem of highly innovative businesses comprising start-ups, SMEs and large companies, which are solving complex technical challenges and delivering sustainable and low carbon solutions to make renewable energy viable, reduce energy waste in our cities with smart technology, reduce agricultural waste and make construction cleaner.
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.
Coinciding with the trade visit, Minister Troy will also formally open Ireland’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, located within the mobility district of the Expo site. Ireland’s theme for the pavilion is ‘Ireland – island of inspiration’, which will include elements that tell part of the story of 5,000 years of Irish creativity and innovation, from Newgrange to today’s creative and innovative Ireland. Participation at Expo will provide an opportunity to promote Ireland to a global audience of up to 25 million visitors over the event’s six month duration, opening the door to new contacts, new markets, and new collaborations.
Looking ahead to the trade visit, Robert TroyT.D., Ireland’s Minister with responsibility for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, 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 per cent, 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. By doing so, it brings mutual benefits to both Ireland and the local partners across the region. This trade visit will focus on our track record of close cooperation with the Middle East. It will further explore mutually beneficial business opportunities, areas for collaboration, and generate awareness of Ireland’s world leading innovation delivering the future.”
Enterprise Ireland is the Irish government’s trade and innovation agency. With 40 international offices worldwide, Enterprise Ireland has four offices across the GCC, in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh.
