Trade worth about €65 million over the next three years has been agreed during the Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said yesterday.
Mr Ahern, who is leading the mission, said the scale and scope of the agreements reached during the visit "demonstrate a confidence here that Irish companies and organisations, North and South, have the capability and the practical competitive solutions to compete and win in global markets".
Irish companies must fight for extra business in the Middle East and other foreign markets if long-term prosperity is to be safeguarded, he added.
"It is not a question of choice. It is an imperative to be involved in these regions," said Mr Ahern.
"We are an exporting country that wants to have growth to generate the jobs at home with an increased population. I think people have to hunt for new business. To sit back and think that we are growing at 7 per cent a year and that that will prove to be a self-perpetuating situation would be a silly mistake."
Among the contracts signed during the week-long trade mission involving 120 companies are deals worth €32 million signed by McNally Design International. The Irish architectural firm specialises in interiors in the leisure sector and has been in business in the Gulf region for 12 years. Yesterday Mr Ahern opened the firm's new offices in Dubai.
A further €20 million of business agreed on the trip will come from an increase in visits by Saudi students to Irish universities which will be funded by a Saudi foundation. This was announced by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin earlier this week.
Mr Ahern said contracts worth €13 million were agreed by Irish companies engaged in technology, software and manufacturing during the mission.
CR2, a Dublin-headquartered banking software business with more than 100 customers in 70 countries, announced an agreement with UAE-based Bank of Sharjah.
The Irish company is to provide services for the bank's ATM, internet and SMS channels.
The trade mission is one of the largest yet and includes a number of companies from Northern Ireland.
Terex Finlay, a manufacturer of mobile washing, screening and recycling equipment based in Omagh, Co Tyrone, won orders worth more than £1 million (€1.5 million), it said yesterday. It has secured 11 orders for sand washing machines that are used in the construction and infrastructure sectors.
"During the trip the Taoiseach and I met the governments of both Saudi Arabia and the UAE at the highest level," Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin said. "They are keen to do business with Ireland and want us to play an important role in the development of their countries."
Mr Martin said he would now be encouraging indigenous Irish companies to get involved in the region. He said more business had been done in the UAE than in Saudi Arabia during the trip, but Saudi Arabia was the location with the greatest potential.
Mr Ahern said the upcoming $650 billion (€500 billion) 10-year national development plan in Saudi Arabia offered major opportunities for Irish companies to sell their expertise and skills, particularly as the country was opening up to the outside world.
