This week, I am writing my column from Dubai where I am spending a few days as part of a parliamentary delegation promoting closer links between the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Meetings so far have looked at tourism, financial services, infrastructure, aerospace, energy, the environment and trade.
There is a real enthusiasm for the British in the UAE leading to a huge trading surplus and over 5,000 UK companies doing business here. In return, the UAE is responsible for significant inwards investment in the UK including a new deep sea container port at Thames Gateway and Europe’s largest offshore wind farm in the North Sea.
More encouraging still is that the projections for economic growth here are very strong, particularly as Dubai and Abu Dhabi vie to become the centre from which the quickly developing African and South Asian markets are accessed. At a breakfast with British companies trading in Dubai this morning, it was clear that despite the amount we already export here, there is the opportunity for many more UK companies to access this market.
However, this short trip to the UAE is also a stark reminder that Somerset is competing to attract talented people not just with the rest of the UK but with everywhere. For well skilled workers, the world is their oyster and Dubai, like so many other growing international cities, makes no apology for wanting to bring that talent here. They offer huge tax breaks, cheap accommodation and a highly permissive visa regime. It is worth remembering, therefore, that as we seek to grow our exports around the world we must also make sure that the UK labour market is well supplied with skilled workers to meet that demand.