On A Diplomatic Mission

Since his appointment as the UAE’s Ambassador to the Court of St James in 2016, His Excellency Sulaiman Hamid Al Mazroui has worked to boost ties between the UAE and UK. Ian Fairservice met with the ambassador to talk trade, culture and diplomacy.

VISITING THE UAE AMBASSADOR to the Court of St. James, His Excellency Sulaiman Hamid Al Mazroui, at 1 Grosvenor Crescent, he is justifiably proud of the mission’s new home.

The embassy was moved from the previous location at Prince's Gate a year ago this month. The impressive building occupies the corner plot of Grosvenor Crescent overlooking the gardens of Grosvenor Square. It has been tastefully renovated and restored to its original splendour – and in the process many original features such as the impressive mosaic floors have been exposed and brought back to life.

After a tour of the new building, we settled down to discuss His Excellency’s role and his thoughts on the future of UK-UAE relations.

"The relationship between the UK and the UAE has developed from strength to strength over the last 47 years," he said.

"We have seen this relationship grow in all aspects; political, economic, cultural and consular.

"On the political side, both countries share efforts on combating extremism and terrorism. Both countries fought side by side in Afghanistan, against Daesh and to end piracy at sea.

"On the economic level, trade is growing. It currently stands at GBP17bn (Dhs81.5bn / $22.2bn). The target set by both governments is to reach GBP22bn (Dhs105.4bn / $28.7bn) by the year 2020. The UAE is one of the largest export markets outside the EU for the UK goods. This is due to world-class infrastructure in sea ports and shipping in the UAE.

"What's more, some 1.5 million British tourists visit the UAE every year and more than 120,000 UK citizens live in the UAE."

"There are approximately 3,000 Emirati students attending UK education institutions in various specialisations, and there are dozens of British academic institutions in the UAE.