Possibility of Gulf trade deal being reviewed

A review of trade and investment, and the possibility of negotiating a free trade agreement, is being conduced by government on six lucrative markets in the Arabian Peninsula.

That 's what British Ambassador to Qatar, Jon Wilks, told delegates at the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce 's annual Global Trade Conference, yesterday.

He discussed with Mandy Haque, director of international business hub at the Chambers, how the government is looking to capitalise on the expansive opportunities to do business in the largest export market outside of the EU, US and China - the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The council is an alliance of six Middle Eastern countries consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Mr Wilks, who has more than 20 years of experience working in the Middle East, said that Gulf countries viewed Brexit as an opportunity for the UK to expand its trading horizons.

He said: “The Gulf countries in general saw Brexit as an opportunity. So they knew that they had a traditional relationship with the UK, but they thought as we looked to wider world markets we would look to them.

“They were right to do so, because it 's not always understood that the six GCC markets as a whole, after the EU, US and China, are our next biggest export market.

“So, we 're now doing a trade and investment review of all those markets to look at whether there is the potential to negotiate a free trade agreement, either at the level of the six or with individual countries. ”

Mr Wilks also told delegates to expect an increase in trade and relations exchanging between the UK and the Arabian Peninsula.

He said: “In the next couple of years we 're hoping to see an uptick in our trade and investment relations, and it will work both ways, that will be inward investment here but also exports there.

“For Qatar, which has major plans to expand its gas production, it is going to be an even more important market for us in the decade ahead. ”

Abdeslam El-Idrissi (pictured), deputy CEO and secretary general of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, provided virtual attendees with practical insights on trading with Arab states.

During his presentation, Mr El-Idrissi, explained that 60 per cent of the Arab region is under 25 - mirroring Birmingham 's own youthful population.

He advised businesses on the more than 30 'mega ' projects that are currently taking place in the Gulf, worth in excess of $1trillion, and commented that investors from Arab states are increasingly looking to spend their investment cash outside of London, presenting a huge opportunity for Greater Birmingham firms.

Mr El-Idrissi provided his top tips for firms looking to immediately take advantage of the business opportunities that lie in the Gulf.

He said: “The market does give you a lot of opportunities, but what you 've got to do is know your product first before you go to market.

“There are 22 country states, choose your country carefully and know whether your product actually fits into that market.

“Always be patient, things don 't happen over night, you will need to keep going at it in order to secure your deals.

“Visit the market, it is very important. One thing that we 'll have, when we can have them, is face to face meetings - they are terribly important in order to actually connect with the parties. ”