The government of Ireland is very committed to continuing the development of its trade links with Saudi Arabia. In this context, “our Ambassador Niall Holohan in Riyadh recently arranged the appointment of a new Irish honorary consul in Jeddah and plans to look to other cities in the Kingdom to appoint more honorary consuls,” says Sean Davis, regional manager of the Dubai-based Enterprise Ireland for the Middle East and North Africa. “The GCC countries are not only incredibly important markets for Ireland, they are also geographically significant and are representative of the other fast growing global markets elsewhere in Asia,” he told Khalil Hanware of Arab News in an exclusive interview.
“In our work with our indigenous Irish companies, we continue to highlight the opportunities in Saudi Arabia, but this is a two-way street,” says Davis, who has been managing a team based in Riyadh and Dubai since February 2012.
Prior to taking up the post in the UAE, he spent 16 years in the US, the last 4 years managing the Enterprise Ireland Cleantech, Industrial & Life Sciences team.
He spent 10 years in Ireland with the Irish retail chain Superquinn, assuming a variety or management roles before relocating to the US in 1996. He holds a diploma in management and marketing and has an honors degree in Business Studies.
The following are excerpts from the interview:
Can you give us an idea about Ireland’s trade relations with Saudi Arabia?
Ireland has had a long and productive trading relationship with the Kingdom. One of the most successful examples of this was realized in 1976 by the vision of Prince Sultan bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Kabeer and two of Ireland’s leading agro-food pioneers, Alastair and Paddy McGuckian, when they formed Almarai dairy company. Today, as we know, Almarai is probably the largest integrated dairy foods company in the world, rapidly becoming a truly global brand and one that continues to have a significant Irish presence among its management team. As it continues to expand, we see Irish expertise in the complex design and engineering challenges of the newer Almarai facilities. As the trade development agency of the Irish Government, Enterprise Ireland has had an office in the Kingdom since 1983. Originally based in Jeddah, our office has for many years been at the Embassy of Ireland in Riyadh. Today we work with client companies from diverse sectors such as ICT, aviation, health care, financial services, eLearning, engineering and enterprise software. All of these companies recognize that as the economy in the Kingdom continues to grow and flourish so too does the demand for innovative products and solutions. We would therefore anticipate that Irish companies will be deploying in the Kingdom at an increased rate in the years ahead. This is something that we at Enterprise Ireland actively encourage client companies to do as it demonstrates a commitment to the market, which is essential for productive and mutually beneficial partnerships and joint ventures.
What are the prospects for improving further Saudi-Ireland trade ties?
Of course, in addition to a strong private sector commitment, the further development of trade ties also depends on the development of relationships between key stakeholder agencies in both countries. In that context, we look to continue to develop our excellent working relationship with the relevant ministries in the Kingdom. We have also worked with the respective city and provincial chambers of commerce toward common aims; the Council of Saudi Chambers in Riyadh has also been very welcoming and accommodating to our requests. The Joint Arab Irish Chamber of Commerce in Dublin recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary and has for all that time served as an important tool bridging Irish industry to the Arab world. In more recent times, the formation of the Saudi Irish Business Council in Ireland will prove to be another important step in developing our trade ties even further.
What are the Saudi projects in which Irish companies are involved?
Irish companies have been involved in many projects in Saudi Arabia. These include the project managing the recently completed infant nutrition facility for Almarai by PM Group; providing the mechanical, electrical and plumbing for one of the largest poultry processing plants in the Kingdom by Jones Engineering; the design and installation of acoustic wood paneling in the auditoriums of over 12 Saudi universities by Woodfit; CES Energy provided the building management system for a Saudi BinLadin built high rise commercial tower in Jeddah; in addition, Quantity surveying work on airport and university projects in the Kingdom and design work on data centers was conducted by Irish companies. Current projects by Irish companies include work on the King Abdulaziz Port in Jeddah, again by CES Energy, and the social master plan for Jeddah Municipality and surrounding environs by Fehily Timoney.
Which sectors in Saudi Arabia interest Irish firms for investment?
Irish firms recognize how crucially important it is to have the right local partner. This combination of skills and expertise from an Irish company, brought together with the market knowledge and contact base of a local partner, is the corner stone of mutually beneficial investments and partnerships. Developments in transport, commercial, residential, energy, health care, telecommunications, aviation and financial sector infrastructure to name but a few provide the right environment for Irish companies to examine the opportunities and to seek out the right local partner for them. Successful business is about mutually beneficial relationships and Irish companies have a long history in this regard.
Are Irish companies taking part in Saudi energy and renewable energy projects?
In terms of the development of renewable energy projects, geography has bestowed our two countries with very different forms of renewable energy sources. Where the Kingdom has an abundance of solar energy available, Ireland is more focused on wind but is also examining closely the commercial viability of wave energy given that the most dynamic wave energy source in the world is off the west coast of Ireland. However, while our sources might be different, we share the same challenges when it comes to transmission of power to where it is needed, monitoring of power usage across different environments and managing the power generated more efficiently. Ireland has a lot to offer when it comes to the design and engineering of highly efficient grid systems and building management and monitoring systems. In the medium term, it is broadly accepted that renewable energy is going to be more expensive to generate than traditional energy sources prevalent today. However, the long term economics and rationale for renewable energy is without question; in the meantime we have an immediate focus on optimally managing that energy. There are some other interesting Irish renewable energy technologies areas. Currently, Ireland has one of the largest plastics to fuel plants in the world, taking plastic from the waste stream and converting it back to carbon based fuels such as petroleum, diesel and kerosene. Another Irish company is taking non-biological municipal solid waste and converting it into a solid fuel that is being used to power industrial plants; these are examples of interesting waste to energy projects that require little more than the cost-effective diversion of the waste stream to the processing facilities.
How do you see the bilateral trade prospects?
The government of Ireland is very committed to continuing the development of our trade links. Our Ambassador Niall Holohan in Riyadh recently arranged the appointment of a new Irish honorary consul in Jeddah and plans to look to other cities in the Kingdom to appoint more honorary consuls. In our work with our indigenous Irish companies, we continue to highlight the opportunities in Saudi Arabia, but this is a two-way street. We recently welcomed a delegation from Qassim Province, under the auspices of Prince Faisal, to Ireland. Their purpose was a study visit to learn about the development of Ireland’s indigenous crafts industry and we worked very closely with the delegation leadership to help develop a robust educational program; this is one example of how we can use each other’s strengths to mutual advantage.
Saudi Arabia is Ireland’s most important trading partner in the Middle East. The Irish education of Saudi students is an important element in reinforcing the positive trade relationship with Saudi Arabia. How is this progressing?
We have enjoyed a very positive relationship with the Ministry of Higher Education and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) here in the Kingdom. Our Embassy in Riyadh led by Ambassador Niall Holohan has been integral in the development of that relationship. Under the Education in Ireland umbrella, a large number of our higher education institutes have participated in the International Exhibition and Conference in Higher Education for the past number of years, and this year is no exception when we will have 13 third level institutes represented. We are also deeply honored to have our Education Minister Ruairi Quinn in attendance this year. Quinn will be discussing with ministry officials how Ireland can further contribute to the important and valuable knowledge the study abroad programs provide a student. It is indeed something that is important to Irish students also. Education is an important national priority for both our nations and has been included as a major issue for closer cooperation by the Saudi-Irish Joint Economic Commission. Of course the vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and the expansion of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program cannot be overstated in terms of the extraordinary developments taking place in the educational sphere in the Kingdom at present.
How do mutual visits from officials in both countries help to boost relations in various fields?
In the coming weeks, we will welcome Housing and Planning Minister Jan O’Sullivan and Education Minister Ruairi Quinn to the Kingdom. Later in the year, we would hope to welcome another senior government delegation from Ireland. We are also looking forward to a successful meeting of JEC delegates in Riyadh later this year. These visits and meetings by Irish ministers with their Saudi counterparts are important steps toward building productive relationships. We view visits by delegations from the Kingdom to Ireland as equally important and look forward to receiving ever more Saudi guests to Ireland in the future.
Last year, an agreement was signed to establish Saudi-Irish Business Council (SIBC) to improve bilateral trade between the two countries. Is the council already in existence and what’s its role?
This important grouping is made up of private sector companies and business people from both countries. The first meeting of the SIBC is scheduled to be held in Riyadh next month. I anticipate that this forum will provide an excellent opportunity for the private sector to develop and expand the many commercial relationships which already exist between Saudi and Irish companies, both big and small. I would like to avail of this opportunity to thank the Council of Saudi Chambers for the impressive efforts they have made over the past year in ensuring that the joint business council could become a reality.
What are Ireland’s main exports to Saudi Arabia and imports from Saudi Arabia?
The main export and import sectors represented by both of our countries are food, office and industrial machinery. In addition, and as indicated by the Almarai example, Ireland has had a long tradition in the supply of high quality construction and engineering products and services to overseas markets, and the Kingdom has been a very important export market for Ireland as it continues significant investment in world-class facilities and infrastructure. As the demand for better health care grows, we are also seeing Saudi Arabia becoming more important to our life sciences sector and this was evidenced by the large number of Saudi health care executives who met with a number of our client companies at the regional health conference, Arab Health. Ireland also has a global reputation in food processing and production, the field of agro-science can also help provide solutions to food production in challenging conditions.
Is Ireland attracting tourists from Saudi Arabia?
Ireland welcomes many millions of international visitors every year. Direct flight access has shown to be a key contributor to a nation’s popularity as a tourist destination. We hope that it may soon be possible to have such a direct flight from Saudi Arabia. While we welcome a great many Saudi nationals to Ireland each year, my colleagues at Tourism Ireland would be only too happy to provide any Saudi citizen thinking of visiting Ireland with any information they need to have a very enjoyable stay.
How are the trade relations between Ireland and other GCC countries?
As air transport connectivity continues to see double-digit growth across the GCC, the region becomes more and more accessible for international trade from all countries, including Ireland. As a country that exports over 80 percent of our GDP, we have a long history of looking to overseas markets and to developing the innovative products and services that these markets require. We at Enterprise Ireland would anticipate increasing our personnel presence in existing offices as well as opening new offices in the years ahead. The GCC countries are not only incredibly important markets for Ireland, they are also geographically significant and are representative of the other fast growing global markets elsewhere in Asia.
