The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, will arrive in Doha today. He is leading a trade mission to the Gulf seeking to attract major investment to London and build stronger ties with this region.

During his visit in Qatar, the mayor has a series of high-level meetings with political, state and business leaders, including senior members of the royal families, sovereign wealth funds and investment authorities. He will also visit Katara Cultural Village in support of the Qatar-UK Year of Culture.

While in Qatar, the mayor will also address key business audiences including the Qatar British Business Forum.

He will meet major investors, many of which already have a major interest in London, including Khaled al-Sayed, acting CEO of Qatari Diar, investors in London’s Olympic Village.

He will also meet Sheikh Saoud bin Abdurrahman al-Thani, secretary general of Qatar Olympic Committee.

Commenting on his visit Johnson said: “I want London to continue to be the number one city of choice for investors from this dynamic region. With strong historic ties in place, we already have fruitful trading partnerships between the Gulf and this city notably in finance, infrastructure, tourism, education and culture. These collaborations have resulted in several recent mega projects to benefit London’s economy and jobs market such as the stupendous Shard and the London Gateway.”

Boris Johnson will be joined by a delegation of senior business leaders representing key sectors in London’s economy including financial services, sport, architecture, infrastructure, technology and creative industries.

He will also be accompanied by Sir Edward Lister, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Dr Gerard Lyons, his Chief Economic Adviser.

The visit is part of a series of targeted overseas trips planned by the mayor to key markets that are important for London and that can help to spur jobs and growth in the capital.

Collectively, the Gulf states represent huge inward investment and bilateral trade opportunities for London. It is already the UK’s seventh largest export market. The scale of domestic growth plans by the Gulf countries and planned investment into the UK as part of economic diversification, opens up huge commercial opportunities for London.