With the flow of investment between the UAE and Britain becoming increasingly a two-way process, Stewart Watkins, the managing director of the County Durham Development Company, CDDC, the inward investment and business development organisation for County Durham, in North-East England, made a follow-up visit to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in April to build on contacts that already exist.

He was a member of a special trade delegation from North East England organised by Kevan Jones MP, who represents North Durham in Parliament and is also the co-chairman of the UK-UAE All- Party Parliamentary Group. The visit was designed to build on relationships between the North East Chamber of Commerce, NECC, and the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the delegation also included Brendan Murphy, NECC’s Director of International Trade.

While in Abu Dhabi, Watkins met with Mohammed Omar Abdullah, Under Secretary of the Department of Planning and Economy, and with officials from the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as with the British Embassy and representatives of the British business community in the capital.

North East England, including County Durham, has seen a major change in its economy in recent years as a result of the decline of the coal-mining, ship-building ad heavy engineering industries, and is now faced with the task of meeting the challenges of building a new economy. In this article, Stewart Watkins explains how County Durham is meeting those challenges.

County Durham is part of the wider region of North East England – a region with a strong tradition of innovation and an exceptional export record.

As well as strengths in retail and the service sector, the region is leading the way in fields as diverse as biotechnology, automotives, microelectronics and the offshore industry.

Its’ economic base is now a healthy mix of British and overseas companies that have invested in new facilities or expanded their business operations within the County and successful home grown enterprises.

While County Durham’s heritage of creativity and innovation stretches back over hundreds of years, its vision lies firmly in the future. In NETPark, the North East Technology Park at Sedgefield, it possesses a true catalyst for economic change which has quickly established itself as one of the fastest growing science, engineering and technology parks in Britain.

Managed and marketed by CDDC, the NETPark Incubator is home to some of the North East’s most advanced technology companies while the NETPark Institute houses world-class research groups from Durham University.

North East England is home to five universities, with a formidable depth and quality of combined research covering fields such as nanotechnology, bio-science, electronics, chemistry, astronomy and engineering.

Providing an interface between higher education and business, NETPark is providing the right environment to turn this research into commercially successful products. It is proving a preferred location for developing and growing high-tech businesses in sectors which will experience rapid growth in the future.

NETPark can also boast a facility of international significance in the Plastic Electronics Technology Centre (PETeC). This £12m development managed by the Centre for Process Innovation Group, one of the region’s Centres of Excellence, is set to make the North East a world leader in the development and exploitation of direct write technologies and flexible functional materials - a revolutionary technology predicted to be a £16bn industry by 2015.

A great location for business must also be a great place to live and that describes County Durham perfectly, with attractive affordable housing, hassle-free commuting, unspoilt countryside, a range of cultural activities, and a choice of good schools and universities.

Durham’s Cathedral and Castle World Heritage Site was one of the first to be designated and has since been joined by Hadrian’s Wall to provide the region with two iconic attractions.

The CDDC team has extensive business experience of the County’s economy, and has strong business and technology networks, local knowledge and database resources. It will help identify sites or premises, local suppliers, recruitment and training support, sources of financial assistance and potential business contacts.

CDDC works closely with the region’s other economic support agencies. These include the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), UK Trade & Investment, the Government Office for the North East and the regional development agency One NorthEast. Developing opportunities with the UAE is helped by a direct daily flight between Newcastle Airport and Dubai.