British MPs start 5-day UAE

Abu Dhabi, April 1, 2012 (WAM) - A British Parliamentary delegation arrived in Abu Dhabi yesterday to start a visit to the UAE. Led by the Right Honourable Lord Howard of Lympne CH QC, the group of 10 Parliamentarians will spend five days in the UAE. Lord Howard said, "The UAE is a long-standing ally located in a strategically important part of the world, and its relations with Britain have helped make the world a better and safer place - through defence cooperation against piracy off the Horn of Africa, delivering development assistance to Afghanistan, and helping the Libyan people rebuild their country after the fall of Colonel Gaddafi. Our two countries also have a very important trade relationship, which it is hoped will be worth ?12 billion by 2015. There are over 100,000 British people living in the UAE, over a million British people visit here every year, and around 50,000 Emiratis visit Britain every year. My colleagues and I are here to learn how we can help build our country's relations further." Lord Howard is the Chairman of the UK-UAE All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) which consists of around 80 parliamentarians with an interest in the UAE from all parties in both Houses of the UK's Parliament. The Government of the UAE has previously hosted regular delegations from this group. This week's visit will see the nine Members of the House of Commons and one member of the House of Lords divide their time between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. They will meet senior officials from a number of Government agencies and private sector companies. Since the group was established, over 50 Parliamentarians have visited the UAE furthering the already close links between the UK and the UAE. - Emirates News Agency, WAM