Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor welcomed HE Patrick Hennessy, the Irish Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates to his office on Monday April 14, 2014. It was the first meeting between the two gentlemen.
Mr Hennessy was nominated as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates in February 2013, a post that also covers Kuwait, Qatar and Afghanistan. He replaced Irish Ambassador in Abu Dhabi, Ciarán Madden, who returned Dublin.
Mr Al Habtoor recently returned from a visit to the Irish capital Dublin where he is looking at investment opportunities. He stayed at the Merrion Hotel, a Georgian building in the heart of the city centre opposite major landmarks. “This wasn’t my first visit to Ireland, and I would definitely go back,” said Mr Al Habtoor. “Dublin has a great atmosphere. It is a cosmopolitan city full of international visitors. I was impressed with the architecture in the city, and I love the wet, cool weather.”
HE Hennessy informed Mr Al Habtoor that now is the time to invest in Ireland and about the economic recovery underway in the country, “The quicker you move, the better the value,” he said.
He added that the construction sector is very active, as well as the export and food sector.
He also told Mr Al Habtoor that earlier in the year 80 companies from Ireland visited Dubai to look at potential investment opportunities here. The delegates were here on a three-day visit. He added that they appreciated that Dubai is fast becoming the centre of the world. “They enjoyed golfing in the UAE and the beautiful weather.”
Mr Al Habtoor informed Mr Hennessy that Dubai is a safe haven for investors. The economy is expected to grow 4.7 per cent this year. Tourism, trade, transportation and real estate are all witnessing strong performance and will continue to be the main drivers of the economy.
Mr Hennessy said that Emirates airlines had doubled flights to Dublin and Etihad currently offers four flights per day from Abu Dhabi to Dublin.
There are currently 6,000 registered Irish residents in the UAE, a 30 per cent rise in the last three years. Although that figure is likely to be significantly great when the unregistered are accounted for. “There is a very active Irish business community in the UAE,” he said.
Following the meeting His Excellency Hennessy joined Mr Al Habtoor at his Majlis for lunch accompanied by several other high-profile delegates including German Ambassador HE Nikolai von Schoepff; Russian Consul General in Dubai Mr. Gocha Buachidze and Mr Clemens Wolters, a member of the Board of Directors of the German-Emirati Joint Council for Industry and Commerce (AHK).