“We (Isle of Man) have signed an agreement with the Central Bank in Abu Dhabi. In Dubai, we have held discussion with the independent free finance zone,” Gelling told Khaleej Times in an interview here.

“We have entered into an agreement in the financial sector and banking and on the insurance and pensions because they are areas seeing development in our country,” said Gelling, who has been meeting officials in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

“We have brought private sector people with us. The delegation included our two senior executives — one from the banking and investment sector and David Vick, the Chief Executive of the insurance and pensions. They are representing the regulations and aspects of investment.”

Gelling said he has been surprised during each visit by UAE’s development in different sectors.

“I have watched the development of the UAE with great interest, and I have to say with a great surprise, the place has developed into something that you could not have imagined some time back. Every time I come back to the region, I see new things including real estate, developed tourism and hotels. These things are amazing, they prove that once the right decisions are made, within two years you can have whatever you want from nothing. We have several citizens from Isle of Man in Dubai and they are interested in the development of the country and seek to be part of it.”

He said he first visited the UAE in mid-90. He was the treasury minister at that time and was eager to develop profit from doing business in the region. “I came out here basically to meet with the authorities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and also in Bahrain. We have concentrated our relations and visits very much to the three cities. We have developed those relations over the years to get to know the people we are dealing with. It has been a development in building relations because I believe that is the only way to get the trust and the confidence of the people in this area.”

Gelling met the governor of the Central Bank in Abu Dhabi a few days ago. He said he met the official five times over the years.

Isle of Man, a small island in the Irish Sea, has a history going back to more than one thousand years of governing. Its history is intertwined with that of the Vikings, who came from the north. It is a Manx nation made of Vikings and Celtics. “Although of a small size and small population, we have been in the International arena for a long time. As a nation that has a history of government we traditionally were very much into tourism, light manufacturing, fishing and farming,” Gelling said.

He said financial products have taken a large part of the Isle of Man economy. “We have agreements with the UK whereby we have a common VAT duty which leaves us with the board, which is custom free, so that we can trade easily and our people can trade with the UK. We then have a European situation, which is very unique, because we are not in Europe and yet we have a protocol which allows our farming, industries and manufacturers to actually export to the huge market of the EU.”

Commenting on his country’s relations with the UK, Gelling said: “We are not part of the UK and we have never been part of the UK. But we are British citizens.