The UAE is a Long Time Investor in The United Kingdom

London Gateway UKThe United Kingdom has been a huge beneficiary of the UAE’s vast fortune, the oil-rich nation has accrued over the last 4 decades. This should not be too much of a surprise, considering the two countries have had a great business relationship ever since the United Arab Emirates was formed in 1971. At that time, many from the UK helped to establish important sectors such as medicine, banking and aviation, to name a few. As of today, there are more than 100,000 British citizens that call the UAE their home.

Let us take a quick look at some of the history of the more monumental investments:

• Dubai’s DP World, one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world and growing at a rapid rate, is currently building the new state-of-the-art London Gateway,
• The Abu Dhabi energy firm TAQA has been instrumental in the success of the oil production at the North Sea oilfields,
• Abu Dhabi is part owner of the London Array, a clean energy facility generating power for 20 per cent of London households and
• The UAE was also a major contributor to the building of the 2012 London Olympic games.

The list goes on and on. When you look back, it is hard to imagine the state of the UK economy today, if they did not have the UAE’s massive influx of billions of dollars of investment.

These huge investments create hundreds of thousands of jobs for the UK, while at the same time building a solid foundation for the country’s economic future. The new London Gateway mega-project is a great example. London Mayor, Boris Johnson was recently quoted as saying:

"This is an outstanding piece of transport infrastructure investment that will make a long-term difference to Britain's economic competitiveness - and create 36,000 jobs ... It will restore the deep-water facility that our city lost over the course of the 20th century and give back competitiveness to London in shipping and maritime transport in a way that we haven't had in many, many years."

There is no doubt that the new London Gateway will go a long way to restoring London, and the UK for that matter, as a major leading destination for global trade in the future. When the new super-port does reach it’s expected huge potential, then the citizens of the United Kingdom are going to owe the UAE a great debt of gratitude, for making it happen in the first place. The leaders of the UAE must certainly believe in the many viable prospects offered in the UK or they would not have made these investments in the first place. While it is good to have a lot of money like the UAE has, what is most important is how it is spent, if at all. The leaders in the UAE are investing some of their fortune in the UK and by all accounts it looks like they are going to get a sizable return in the future.