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British FM: There’s a Huge Potential to expand our Economic Relationships with the Gulf | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond arrives at 10 Downing Street in London, November 2, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo


London – Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has embarked on a two-day New Year tour of the Gulf in a bid to strengthen economic relations with the UK’s allies in the region ahead of Brexit.

The Chancellor will meet with political leaders and finance officials from the Gulf States this week as part of the country’s drive to promote trade ahead of its exit from the European Union.

He is expected to emphasize the importance of expanding existing economic relationships as the Government prepares to trigger Article 50 before the end of March, kick starting formal divorce negotiations with Brussels.

The Chancellor arrived in Kuwait on Wednesday morning for the first stop on his tour and he is due to meet the country’s senior political leaders as well as the Kuwait Investment Authority.

The government said in a statement that Hammond met with Kuwait’s acting prime minister, finance minister and central bank governor.

Speaking after arriving in the Gulf, Hammond said: “As we leave the EU, Britain’s future prosperity requires us to maintain the strongest possible economic links with our European neighbors, while enhancing our existing partnerships with the wider world.”

“There is huge potential to expand our economic and investment relationships with our Gulf allies in the future and in the last few weeks we’ve seen a number of significant investments into the UK which are a real vote of confidence that together we can seize the opportunities that lie ahead,” he added.

Hammond will travel from Kuwait to the UAE for talks with Abu Dhabi’s largest sovereign wealth funds and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company before travelling to Qatar for the final stop on his tour.

He will then visit Qatar to meet its finance minister, the Qatar Investment Authority, the central bank governor and bankers.

Hammond’s tour of the Gulf comes one month after the Prime Minister Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson undertook visits to the region.