Dr Thamer Mahmoud Alany, director, Economic Relations Department, League of Arab States, addressing the Arab British Chamber of Commerce’s (ABCC) 2nd Arab-British Economic Forum in London on Tuesday. He expressed disappointment that despite the historic ties between Arab countries and the UK, the size of trade is low standing at just $55bn in 2013.
Denise Marray/Gulf Times correspondent/London
Britain needs to engage more proactively with Arab countries across the Arab regions in order to promote better economic, social and political ties. This was the message delivered by Dr Thamer Mahmoud Alany, director, Economic Relations Department, League of Arab States, when he addressed the Arab British Chamber of Commerce’s (ABCC) 2nd Arab-British Economic Forum in London October 21.
He expressed disappointment that “despite the historic ties between Arab countries and the UK, the size of trade is low standing at just $55bn in 2013.”
Responding to his remarks at the conclusion of his speech, Baroness Symons, chairman, ABCC, said: “Thank you for that hard nudge.”
Speaking to Gulf Times at the forum, Dr Alany elaborated on the need for new mechanisms to promote stronger and more comprehensive engagement between the UK and Arab countries. “There should be meetings or forums at three levels — expert, high official and ministerial, developing towards a summit,” he said.
Such an approach, he explained, is proving successful with countries where such mechanisms are already established.
“We have forums with China, Japan, Turkey, India and Russia. These are very effective. For example, today the size of trade between the Arab countries and China is about $222bn,” he noted.
Asked for his views on the points raised by Dr Alany, HE Khaled al-Duwaisan, the longest serving full time ambassador in London, Ambassador to Kuwait and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, said that while “in the Gulf we are satisfied with the flow of trade” there was a need for more proactive engagement with other Arab countries.
“We have satisfactory relations in the Gulf but they need to be strengthened in other Arab countries. Britain has been absent in our countries. Now the British realise the importance of their physical presence,” he said.
Asked if he thought the British showed a degree of complacency in their attitude towards engaging with their Arab counterparts, he replied, “Yes, I do.” He elaborated: “A lot of Arabs come to Britain and they feel that British companies and officials think ‘Oh — the Arabs are here’, but we say ‘no — you should go to the Arab world and talk to the people directly. They want to see a greater British presence on the ground,” he said.
He observed that a very different approach was adopted by other nations. “Americans, Indians, Chinese, Germans and French are knocking on every door in the Arab world,” he said. He added: “I would love to see more co-operation between Britain and the Arab world — I’d like to see more British in our region — more British personnel and companies.”
Asked to comment on the role of Qatar in promoting more comprehensive ties, he said: “Qatar is one of the leading countries in the Arab world. They have a lot of investment and trade with the UK and they enjoy strong ties with the other Gulf countries. They could encourage Britain to have stronger relations in the Arab regions.”
He also called for action in removing trade restrictions. “We have in the Arab world a lot of obstacles. A lot of regulations are in place not to facilitate the flow of commodities but to prevent flow. These should be addressed properly and frankly,” he said.
Ibtehaj Mohamed al-Ahmadani, Board Member, Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who was attending the forum, spoke about the importance of developing personal relations in the interests of trade and cultural understanding. She would like to see more British making the trip to Qatar.
“Face to face relations and dialogue makes it much easier for both sides to understand each other,” she said.
Mohamed Ashmawy, chairman and managing director, The United Bank Egypt called for Britain to bring its expertise and knowledge to the country.
“Britain has the know-how and the people. I wonder why they don’t take the lead and push people to invest. We look to Britain as a partner — we have an old history. They know us well. They should not wait for an opportunity — they should come and help us to open opportunities. We expect England to come and help us with regard to developing better use of our natural resources and value added,” he said.
