UK's Fox sees win-win ties with UAE in post-Brexit era

Britain is very much open for business like never before in the post Brexit scenario and is looking for opportunities to further boost economic and trade ties with the UAE other Gulf countries, visiting Secretary of State for International Trade Dr Liam Fox said.
In his first official visit to the UAE since the Brexit vote, Dr Fox in his address at the Capital Club disclosed the ways in which Britain's future position outside the EU will actually help it to become the world's brightest beacon for open trade. Highlighting that trade is a two-way street and that thus far, Fox said the collaboration between the UK and UAE has been incredible.
"Trade is now taking its rightful place at the heart of government policy making", and in the post-Brexit era, the two countries cannot allow their ties to slacken.
Dr Fox said the UAE remains the 4th largest trading partner of the UK outside of Europe. Since 2009, the number of exports from the UK to the UAE has increased by 39 per cent. The UAE is also a huge investor in Britain: Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Funds have committed to investing in urban regeneration in Manchester, the Manchester Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, and have already invested over £1billion in UK offshore wind. Dr Fox also highlighted that 100,000 UK nationals wake up every morning and go to work here in the UAE, and that there are over 5,000 UK companies doing business on these shores. He said the UK now has the glorious opportunity to position itself at the centre of an increasingly interconnected world. "A more open economy means a greater two-way flow of investment, both fueling an increased capacity in the industrial base and paving the way to greater export potential. This signifies a win-win partnership between the UK and the UAE."
Dr Fox spoke of the strength of the UK's economic fundamentals. A globally-admired system of law, low taxation, low regulation, a skilled workforce, record levels of employment, and the highest ranked economy by the World Bank for ease of doing business.
The visiting official reiterated that the Department of International Trade would champion UK plc around the world to ensure that the number of exports are boosted and both inward and outward investments are encouraged. His department will be quicker at identifying big-ticket exporting opportunities in high growth markets and that the UAE has already been prioritised for these opportunities.
Emphasising that the UK and the UAE are both proud trading nations, Dr Fox asked for support as the UK embarks on its new journey outside the European Union. "Britain is very much open for business like never before and that is worth getting out of bed for in the morning", he said.
Dr Fox's address echoed British Prime Minister Theresa May's call on Monday to US business chiefs that the UK is open for business and therefore feel free to invest in the country.
While in New York for her first United Nations General Assembly meeting, May took the opportunity to meet with senior leaders from companies such as Amazon, Goldman Sachs, IBM and Morgan Stanley in a bid to reassure US investors following the vote to leave the European Union. Mihir Kapadia, CEO and founder of Sun Global Investments, said Theresa May's meeting with company chiefs from around the world is a strong signal from the UK government. "It resonates with the unyielding buoyancy of London, the only contending financial capital to rival New York. The ambiguity generated by the Brexit vote on investor confidence seems to be being proactively dealt with and is helping London emerge from the clutches of doubt." - issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com