Scotland in the Middle East

Scotland in the Middle East

February saw a flurry of activity in the Middle East, with Scottish companies attending the GlobalScot Middle East Connect Event in Dubai, and exhibiting at Gulfood, one of the worlds largest trade shows for the food and drink industry.

Scotland will be further recognised in the region this week as a producer and exporter of high quality speciality food, drink and textiles products as the Jumeirah Scotland Promotion takes place in Dubai

GlobalScot Middle East Connect Event

Monday 28th February saw the GlobalScot Middle East Connect Event take place in Dubai. The event took place at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, with the theme of 'The Middle East - Still a Land of Promise,' and presented a unique opportunity for the meeting of minds of some of the region's leading business people and Scotland's most exciting growth companies.

The event featured sessions on the opportunities arising from Qatar's acquisition of the World Cup tournament in 2022, as well as the chance to hear from a panel of experts from all sectors talking about setting up and doing business in the Middle East. In addition attending companies were offered direct assistance to accelerate the growth of their business by attending pre-arranged 1-2-1 meetings with GlobalScot.

Dr Lena Wilson, CEO of Scottish Enterprise said, "Scotland has real competitive advantages, both in terms of our company base and in sector strengths, which will allow us to develop new business in emerging markets such as the Middle East... The GlobalScot Connect Conference offers an excellent networking platform for some of Scotland's most interesting growth companies to engage with the region's leading business people. New connections are made, business is done and we all learn something that we did not know before."

Gulfoods

Scottish Development International have taken steps to strengthen Scotland’s food and drink industry by leading a delegation of Scottish companies to Dubai to showcase their goods in one of the world’s most lucrative markets.

SDI, supported by industry leadership group Scotland Food & Drink, targeted Gulfood, one of the world’s largest trade shows for the food and drink industry. The event is a major platform for Scottish companies to secure new global business opportunities. The visit aimed to raise awareness of Scotland’s food and drink industry, develop stronger trade links and increase market penetration of Scottish food and drink in the Middle East.

The region has become increasingly important as an export destination for the Scottish industry and Gulfood expects to welcome more than 3,800 international suppliers and in excess of 55,000 buyers from 152 countries.

Anne MacColl, chief executive, SDI, said, “Gulfood is one of the key events in our international calendar, providing a global stage for Scottish companies to showcase their premium produce in a market where high-quality goods are very much in demand. Last year, Scottish companies attending Gulfood were forecasting around £1.7m of additional sales as a result of participation in the event.”

Jumeirah Scotland Promotion in Dubai

A promotional event will run for one week from 24 Feb until 2 March in the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Resort restaurants, pub and shop, highlighting Scottish produce. An area in the hotel shop will be dedicated to Scottish food, textiles and gift items and waiters and waitresses will be wearing specially designed tartan kilt aprons. The promotion aims to raise awareness and further strengthen the reputation of Scotland as a producer and exporter of high quality speciality food and drink products.