Taoiseach Bertie Ahern last night held talks with a leading member of the Saudi royal family shortly after his arrival in Riyadh at the beginning of a week-long official visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Heading a 170-strong delegation of Irish business people in search of contracts in the region, Mr Ahern met crown prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.
The Taoiseach is being accompanied by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin; the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin; and the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan.
In line with the practice of trade missions led by Mr Ahern in recent years, up to 20 companies from Northern Ireland will be represented on the mission, which has been organised by Enterprise Ireland.
Mr Ahern is also to meet the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Later in the mission, which ends on Thursday night, the Taoiseach will meet Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, whose family has extensive business interests in the Republic.
Today, Mr Ahern will give a speech on the political situation in the Middle East, and Ireland's position on the issues, when he addresses the King Faisal Foundation in Riyadh.
He will also pay a courtesy call on Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz, the governor of Riyadh, and one of the most significant political figures in the Saudi kingdom.
Later, he will open a new office in the Saudi capital for Vilicom, a mobile telecommunications engineering company, before hosting a reception for some of the 1,000 Irish expatriates living in the country.
Trade between Saudi Arabia and Ireland is limited, though heavily weighted in Ireland's favour, an imbalance caused by the fact that Ireland does not use Saudi crude oil.
Irish companies have won contracts in information technology, telecoms software, healthcare and pharmaceuticals; third-level education services; utilities, power and construction industries.
Tomorrow, Mr Ahern will speak at an Enterprise Ireland breakfast before departing later in the day for the United Arab Emirates.
On Wednesday, he will meet Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan, president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, and later, in Dubai, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.
The number of Irish companies operating in Dubai has grown dramatically in the past five years, following the Maktoum family's decision to establish Dubai as a major tourist and financial services location in the region.
Mr Ahern will present Sheikh Mohammed with a gift on behalf of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing.
Later, he will visit a Tourism Ireland promotion to capitalise on the direct flights to Dublin that are now available.
On Thursday, he will host another Enterprise Ireland breakfast in Dubai and present a prize for the Irish Trophy, a new horse race to be run by the Emirates Racing Authority.
He will also witness the signing of a contract between the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin Fire Brigade and a Dublin-based software firm, Valentia Technologies, with the Sheikh Rashid Hospital.