Bilateral trade between the UK and UAE is worth more than £21bn per year and our investment links have never been stronger. The current trade negotiations have the potential to strengthen trade and investment in key sectors such as aviation, automotive and life sciences.

All eyes are on the UAE this year as the nation prepares to host COP28. There is a huge opportunity to influence the international trade landscape through investment and policies which raise green innovation and trade in green goods and services.

The UAE’s ambitions were set out in Glasgow during COP 26 when they pledged to reach net zero by 2050. The UAE has led from the front in a region traditionally powered by hydrocarbons, holding the record for the largest increase in renewable capacity globally over the past decade.

The UK and the UAE share a long history of collaboration in sectors from infrastructure and education to healthcare and financial services. More recently, this has included working together in renewable energy too. Over a decade ago, Masdar made an investment into the London Array wind farm off the coast of Essex. Today this is one of the largest wind farms in the world, powering over half a million homes and displacing 925,000 tonnes of C02 emissions each year.’