Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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308. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he plans to arrange a food-related trade mission to the United Arab Emirates early in 2026. [64297/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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My Department, in conjunction with Bord Bia, are currently developing its 2026 schedule for Ministerial Trade Missions. The locations for these visits have not yet been finalised.

The Department has previously engaged in trade missions in this region. In February 2022, Minister McConalogue led a successful trade mission which included the United Arab Emirates. This visit included a number of Government to Government discussions and engagements with key Irish customers in dairy, meat, prepared foods, FDI and the horse racing sectors. It also encompassed the Gulf Food Trade fair, one of the world's largest food fairs, and the Food, Agriculture and Livelihoods week at EXPO 2020 in Dubai.

My Department and Bord Bia's Middle East/Gulf regional market team continue to support Irish agrifood businesses in engaging with these markets and to realise the opportunities identified during this trade mission.