Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, hosted a special visit by the Prime Minister of Ireland, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, at its Abu Dhabi headquarters.

Kenny, who is in the Gulf region as part of an Enterprise Ireland trade and investment mission to promote greater commercial ties with Ireland, was met by Etihad Airways’ President and CEO James Hogan and members of the airline’s senior management, which includes several Irish nationals.

The Irish trade mission, led by Kenny, included Patrick Hennessy, Irish ambassador to UAE; Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland; and Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland.

Kenny met Irish members of the Etihad Airways workforce during the visit. The airline currently employs 176 Irish nationals, including 115 members of staff based in Abu Dhabi and a team of 34 in Dublin.

Hogan said: “Etihad Airways is proud to have formed strong commercial and cultural ties with Ireland, which has been further built upon by today’s visit by An Taoiseach and the Irish trade mission to our Abu Dhabi headquarters.

“These ties are supported by our ten flights a week between Abu Dhabi and Dublin, the strong Irish contingent in our work force, as well as our equity and codeshare partnership with Aer Lingus, and our sponsorship of the GAA Hurling All Ireland Senior Championship.”

Kenny said: “This visit gives me a very welcome opportunity to publicly acknowledge the strong commercial and cultural ties that Etihad has developed with Ireland.

“I am delighted to meet with the many Irish supplier companies who are successfully supplying products and services to Etihad. It is strong evidence of the opportunities in this market for ambitious and innovative Irish companies.”

Kenny also presented Hogan with a certificate of Irish descendancy, which traces his Irish family lineage back to the 1800s.