Lord Davies, Britain’s Minister for Trade, Investment and Business, visited Abu Dhabi on 2nd July and met with H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the Minister of Foreign Trade, as well as representatives of the Department of Economic Development, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala and key UK investors. He also visited the carbon-neutral Masdar City project and the nearby airport expansion. In this article, he explains why Britain’s economy is well-placed for recovery.

It was a pleasure for me to return to the region, and, in particular, Abu Dhabi, in July. Already, in the time since I was appointed as the Minister for Trade, Investment and Business, I have witnessed the continuing rapid growth in the emirate. Abu Dhabi continues to be a dynamic market for UK companies and not just in the traditional oil and gas sectors. It has embarked on a massive diversification programme creating new partnership opportunities with UK companies.

I led a delegation of entrepreneurial clean tech companies to Abu Dhabi to see how the forthcoming Masdar project might benefit from their innovative technologies. I know a number of Capital Letter readers were involved in the visit. It’s vital that we continue to encourage new and innovative business partnerships like these, particularly in sectors where the UK can share its expertise such as construction, energy, financial services and sustainability.

As someone who is travelling around the world representing the UK during testing economic times, I think it’s important we pause for a moment and ensure we are balanced in our discussions about the financial services industry at home. Financial services will continue to be an integral part of the UK economy. London has been ranked by the Global Financial Services Index as the world’s leading financial centre for the last 5 years.

There are 255 foreign banks in London, double that of New York. Look at Lloyd’s of London - it’s a hugely important part of the insurance industry across the world. Look at the fact we’ve got the largest insurance market in Europe - and the second largest in the world. Look at the legal profession – 98% of commercial arbitration cases are done in London. All of which are absolutely extraordinary achievements.

But my worry is that some institutions are behaving already as if nothing has happened. We cannot afford to fall into that trap. The UK will emerge stronger from the ongoing recession but only if we take action now to increase exports, to places like Abu Dhabi, and attract inward investment. Right now, the UK is the second largest recipient for inward investment in the world and will remain a leading destination due to our stable investment location and our open economy. I feel we are well placed to come out of the crisis in a much better state, given our sound economic strategies and manufacturing capabilities. Our economy remains highly globalised and ranks as the 4th most open economy and the 6th largest manufacturing economy worldwide. Over the last 5 years, the UK defence and security industry wins on average £4 billion per year securing 20 of the global market share. Our creative industries sector is the largest in Europe and our life sciences sector is world class producing a fifth of all medicines developed globally. We have to continue to capitalise on our strengths, both at home and abroad.

The UAE is our largest trading market in the Middle East and it’s important that we continue to let that relationship flourish and grow further. Last year, UK exports to the UAE were worth £3.7billion, a 34 per cent increase on the previous year, while imports were worth nearly £1.3billion.   Indeed, six out of the ten Formula One teams coming to Abu Dhabi later this year are based in the UK. During my short time in Abu Dhabi, I have once again been reminded of the strong ties between our two countries. In mid-October we will be organising an Abu Dhabi Week in London with further UK Ministerial visits to the emirate due later this year.

I was fortunate enough during my visit to be able meet with representatives of various local organisations, and to meet with the Minister of Foreign Trade, H.E. Sheikha Lubna, to discuss further development of the ties between our two economies. The fundamentals are in place at home for a strong recovery - we need to be proactive and avoid focusing on the negative.