New British envoy to concentrate on UK-UAE commercial ties
Former head of counter-terrorism department in London Philip Parham says there are very big opportunities in the UAE.
The new British Ambassador to Abu Dhabi, Philip Parham, is planning to concentrate his efforts in further growing the commercial ties between UK and UAE.
“On the commercial side, there are very big opportunities here, in the UAE. There is the Expo 2020 in Dubai, lots of opportunities with the railway, the new airports in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and the airlines of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and substantial opportunities on Saadiyat Island. I want to do all we can for British companies to be part of all that,” said Parham.
The former head of counter-terrorism department in London, Parham arrived in Abu Dhabi in July after completing his duty as UK ambassador to the United Nations in New York.
With 10 years of business on his impressive CV, Parham has a particular interest in the trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
In 2013, trade between UAE and UK has reached 12.4 billion pound, nearly double that what it was recorded a few years back – 7.5 billion pound in 2009.
“There are also substantial investments between UK and UAE. Last September, for example, Masdar has announced another investment of 500 million pound in a wind farm in UK,” mentioned Parham.
Apart from big companies’ deals, Etihad, Rolls Royce, BP, Masdar and HSBC included, there are also the smaller scale, person-to-person business and employment opportunities, reflected in the big number of British expatriates in UAE – 120,000 people.
Tourism too is on the rise, with one million UK citizens visiting the UAE last year and 262,000 Emiratis visiting the UK.
Another major economic agreement between the two countries is double taxation.
“We hope to make progress on the agreement to eliminate double taxation between UAE and UK,” said the ambassador.
“This mean it simplifies the tax position and insures people are not caught paying tax in both jurisdictions; it also encourages more business,” he explained.
The double tax agreement is expected to be finalised next year.
Politically, the two countries are on the same page when it comes to the instability in the Middle East, both nations being involved in military action against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
“Both Britain and the UAE are involved in military action and political issues in different ways against ISIS, giving support to the UN, as well as humanitarian efforts in Iraq and Syria. UK has contributed so far 700 million pounds to help Syrian displaced people since the crises began,” mentioned Parham.
According to him, there is no new military agenda in fighting
