DUBAI, 19 January 2007 — Irish firms eye contracts worth 65 million euros (300 million dirhams) from the Gulf countries in the business and education sectors over the next one to three years, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said yesterday.

“Dozens of deals were being discussed which could bring in millions for the economy over the next three years. The scale and scope of these agreements demonstrate a confidence here that Irish companies and organization, North and South, have the capacity and the practical competitive solutions to compete and win in global markets,” he said on the last day of the weeklong trade mission to the Gulf countries.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheal Martin said that a number of key deals showed Ireland means “business” in the Gulf region.

“During the mission we have seen 25 significant agreements reached that will pave the way for major trade between Ireland and the entire region over the coming years,” he said.

Cylon Controls Ltd., one of Ireland’s leading independent manufacturers of building controls, has announced it has signed a major new distribution deal with Verger et Delporte to supply its smart energy control solutions in the United Arab Emirates.

Verger et Delporte is one of the leading mechanical and electrical solution providers in the UAE, with more than 800 employees in the country. Also announced yesterday during Enterprise Ireland’s Trade Mission was the first massive hotel project for Cylon in Dubai at the Bavaria Executive Suites in Media City.

Irish construction firm Mivan, which built a palace for Saddam Hussein in the 1980s, has bagged business deals worth around £2 million in the UAE, a company official said yesterday.

“These two contracts are the most recent in a series of similar projects involving our formwork system. Developers are attracted by the flexibility of the system and the opportunity it provides to bring very substantial buildings into full operation much faster than is possible using conventional building techniques,” said Mivan’s Regional Managing Director Jim Laughlin, while commenting on the new business deals. The Antrim-based specialist in fast-track construction techniques, which has its Middle East base in Invest Northern Ireland’s Dubai office, was among 114 Irish firms which took part in the Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Saudi Arabia and the UAE from Jan.15-19.

The Cork Firm Audit Diagnostics opened a sales office in Dubai and concluded a deal worth 5 million euros with customers in Iran. “Outsourcing firm Abtran is in the closing stages of a deal to provide a base in the region which will serve number of clients, including European governments,” said Martin.

He said architecture firm McNally Design has opened its office in the emirate during the mission to serve the 30 million euros in contracts it has secured. Other firms with significant business in the Gulf region participating in the trade mission were FG Wilson, Mallaghan, Fayrefield Foods, CDE Ireland and Liddell Linens. In 2006, bilateral trade between Ireland and UAE the two countries reached 170 million euros, 20 percent increase over 2005, with exports seen in the data processing, chemical, pharmaceutical, telecommunications equipment and services sector, including software. “The UAE had been identified as ‘growth market with significant opportunities’ in line with Enterprise Ireland’s aim of increasing exports by Irish firms to 3 billion euros by the end of 2007,” said Martin.

The Northern Ireland group will also be visiting Qatar, another substantial market in the Gulf region, from Jan. 19-21 on a separate Invest NI trade mission. Invest Northern Ireland works with individuals, companies and organizations in manufacturing and tradable services which show the ambition and commitment to grow by being more innovative, more entrepreneurial and more internationally focused. The mission aims to target new contracts in telecommunications, IT, construction, banking, public sector/utilities and education and e-learning services.