Major Irish trade mission to bolster bilateral ties

Irish Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton will lead a trade delegation comprising 50 companies from April 20-21 in Jeddah and Riyadh.
“The delegation will include companies in various sectors ranging from aviation, agricultural technology, ICT, health care and construction,” Irish Ambassador Tony Cotter told Arab News on Thursday.
Cotter hoped that a further increased bilateral trade volume will come on the heels of the Irish trade delegation’s visit. The bilateral trade between the two countries stands at 1 billion euro.
He noted that Saudi Arabia is becoming a destination of choice for Irish minister-led trade missions.
He said Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny visited the Kingdom in January 2014, accompanied by Minister Bruton and some 100 senior businessmen representing 86 Irish firms.
Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine Simon Coveney also led a successful agriculture and food-focused trade mission to Saudi Arabia in October 2013. The mission included 45 Irish firms.
In April 2014, Minister of Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn also came and delivered the keynote address during the 5th International Exhibition and Conference on Higher Education (IECHE) in the Saudi capital.
Underlining Ireland’s efforts to bolster bilateral trade ties, the Irish ambassador said that his country hosted the first Arab-Irish Business Forum in Dublin in March 2015 for over 300 Irish senior business executives to learn about the huge potential presented by Saudi Arabia and the Arab markets.
The event took place on March 11, and featured a lineup of prominent business leaders like Abdullah Al-Hobayb, chairman of ABB Saudi Arabia, and Amin Shanqiti, chairman of the Saudi-Ireland Business Council, with keynote address from Coveney and Minister for Business and Employment Ged Nash.