Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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216. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the approach his Department, Bord Bia and other agencies will take to enhance the trade and investment relationship between Ireland and Arab states in the Middle East and North Africa in the areas of agri-food and equine sectors. [68294/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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My Department, along with Bord Bia and other agencies, enhances agri-food trade and investment relationships with the Middle East and North Africa through bilateral engagement at ministerial and official level and by conducting targeted trade promotion activities.

In the last number of years, there have been a number of Ministerial trade missions to the region. In 2020 there was a successful trade mission to Algeria and Egypt focusing on the dairy and livestock sectors. In February 2022, the then Minister led a successful trade mission to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia which included a number of Government to Government meetings and engagements with key Irish customers in dairy, meat and prepared foods and also encompassed the Gulfood Trade Fair, one of the world's largest food fairs.

My Department will participate in the upcoming Joint Economic Commission with the United Arab Emirates later this month. Planning is at an early stage for a Ministerial trade mission to the United Arab Emirates in early 2025, to be led by Minister of State Grealish. A key part of this trade mission will also be a visit to Gulfood 2026, where a number of client and stakeholder meetings and engagements are scheduled to take place.

My Department and Bord Bia's Middle East/Gulf regional market team will continue to support Irish agri-food businesses to engage with export markets across the Arab states, Middle East and North African region to enhance the trade relationship for the agri-food sector in the region.