Irish companies have signed contracts worth a collective €36 million during a trade mission in the Middle East.
The week-long Enterprise Ireland mission of 45 Irish companies visited Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia before moving on to Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
The firms joining Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe on the trade mission span a range of sectors including construction, engineering, information communications technology, education, finance and consulting.
Construction firm P Elliot and Wills Brothers Engineering announced a joint venture with the Saudi firm Alzahid Group which is expected to generate a number of deals for the firms which are based in counties Cavan and Mayo.
Other Irish firms to won contracts this week include Dublin-based business consultancy firm Farrelly and Mitchell and Cork-based Globetech which is involved in parking management. Waterford company Ardmore Equine Nutrition, owned by the Gleeson family, opened a base in Dubai to service the equine and camel nutrition markets in the Middle East.
Cork-based Apex Fund Services became the first foreign fund administration firm to secure official registration for its services in Saudi Arabia. enabling it to continue to grow its business in the Middle East.
Westmeath-based company Woodfit secured a €1.5 million deal to fit the Princess Noura University in Saudi Arabia. The specialist joinery company, which employs 28 people in Athlone, manufactures acoustic timber panelling and its previous projects include the Wexford Opera House, Farmleigh House and the Morrison Hotel in Dublin.
In the education sector, Carlow Institute of Technology, Cork Institute of Technology and Blanchardstown Institute of Technology in Dublin got the go-ahead to train Saudi students in vocational skills following an agreement reached by the Irish and Saudi governments.
Separately, the institutes of technology in Athlone, Waterford and Galway-Mayo, which were already involved in the inter-government initiative, got approval to deliver masters programmes to Saudi scholarship students.
Mr O'Keeffe described this week's trade mission as "an important boost for Ireland's export-led economic recovery".
"Enterprise Ireland client firms' exports to the Middle East are worth €385 million and this week's trade mission shows that there is scope to dramatically ramp up our business activity in the rapidly growing emerging market," he said.
"The deals signed this week anchor our client base in the region, helping Irish firms across a range of sectors to break new ground in high-potential markets and create jobs for Irish workers at home and abroad," he added.
More than 70 Irish firms are currently doing business in Saudi Arabia and 20 have a full-time market presence in the country. A similar number of Irish firms are doing business in the UAE and 55 have a presence in the market.
The Government has led successful Irish trade missions to the Gulf region each year since 1986.
