Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 29: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the impact of the new embassy in the United Arab Emirates particularly in relation to economic and social contacts. [13918/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Ireland's Embassy to the United Arab Emirates opened in October 2009. The Embassy also has secondary accreditation to Qatar and Kuwait. One of the principal reasons for opening the Embassy was to support Irish businesses in the UAE and in the Gulf region more generally, and to facilitate trade and investment in both directions. Currently, there are more than 40 Irish companies with operations in the UAE and many more exporting goods and services to the Emirates. Ministerial visits took place in January and April of this year and, in both instances, Embassy contacts facilitated significant meetings with Government and business interlocutors.

Since opening, the Embassy has supported individual companies, groups of companies in particular sectors and the Irish business organisations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In this work, the Embassy works in close cooperation with Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia and other State Agencies. While significant results can only be delivered over time, through building long-term relationships, the impact of the Embassy can already be seen in some immediate results since it opened including:

introductions for Irish companies to major state entities in the UAE;

the placement of hundreds of UAE students in English-language courses in Ireland in summer 2010 and summer 2011;

supporting the establishment of the Dubai Irish Business Network in the first-half of 2010;

the signature of Double Taxation Agreement in 2010;

the lifting of the ban on the import of Irish beef in November 2009;

In terms of social impact, the Embassy provides consular support and services to the growing Irish community in the Emirates (currently 4,500), the largest in the Gulf region. With the opening of the Embassy, these citizens can now access locally in the UAE those services for which previously they would have had to deal with the Embassy in Riyadh. The Embassy also works with and supports the activities of the various Irish societies and GAA clubs in the UAE.

Cultural events supported by my Department and the Embassy have also had an impact. These include a Samuel Beckett Exhibition in 2010 and, in 2011, a series of concerts by the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, Míceál Ó Súilleabháin and Liam O'Flynn. In the overall foreign policy context, the opening of an Embassy in the UAE is a step toward developing stronger relations with an important Middle-East partner. It is worth noting that the UAE have reciprocated the Government's decision and opened an Embassy in Dublin.