UK, UAE to forge strong financial ties

A key strand of this relationship is financial services, where the UK is a world leader and the Gulf region a fast growing global player. This is because of its stability, innovation, high level skills, a tradition of openness, appropriate regulation and a competitive tax environment — a springboard for global growth.

The duke will take part in a lunch today with leading representatives of the UAE financial sector. The UK is attractive to business as it has become the global platform for international financial services and has, as of the end of 2006, the largest share of international bank lending — 20 per cent and total banking assets worth £5.1 trillion.

The UK is a leader in particular in specialist financial services, such as Islamic Finance where it has developed an expertise and business dynamism unrivalled elsewhere in the non-Islamic world.

For its part, the Gulf region and UAE in particular is fast rising as a key player in the world of international finance with extensive liquidity and increasingly sophisticated financial markets.

The visit by The Duke of York is part of a wider programme of engagement between the two countries on financial services. Based on developing relations in fields ranging from Islamic Finance to financial regulation and education, training and qualifications (ETQ), the aim of this effort is to build a strong partnership with the UAE in financial services that will prosper even more in the future.

Following The Duke of York's visit, the Lord Mayor of London will visit the Gulf in February-March 2008 with a sizeable delegation from the City to further develop the close links between the UK and the nascent financial centres of the region.