Alun Cairns in Middle East investment talks

WELSH Secretary Alun Cairns is travelling to the Middle East today for a series of meetings with Qatari investors to discuss commercial opportunities in Wales.

Among the people he meets will be the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, who confirmed earlier this month that the airline’s Cardiff to Doha service will take to the skies next May. He will also meet senior members of the Qatari Businessmen Association before meeting the Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company to offer post-EU exit assurances for their continued investment strategy in the UK.

Mr Cairns said: “The UK Government has worked closely with Qatar Airways to secure this air route to the Middle East. I’m determined to take commercial relationships between Wales and Qatar to the next level.

“That is why I am visiting this important trading partner today. From government trade missions, to the opportunities the new daily Cardiff to Doha service presents, I want Wales to be on the front foot to exploit every opportunity we have to increase Middle Eastern investment on Welsh shores.”

Qatar is the UK’s third-largest export market in the Middle East and accounts for £35bn of existing investment in the UK. Bilateral trade is valued at more than £5bn per year and the relationship between the two countries continues to go from strength to strength.