British political delegation visits Abu Dhabi and Dubai

Trip follows successful visit to the UAE by Prince William

The British delegation will visit Expo 2020 Dubai. Reuters

A delegation of five British parliamentarians from the UAE all-party group in the UK Parliament has begun a four-day visit to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

During the trip, they will meet senior ministers, the Speaker of the Federal National Council, business leaders and visit Expo 2020 Dubai.

The delegation is led by David Jones, a member of the British Parliament.

“The UAE is an important international partner of the United Kingdom,” said Mr Jones. “We share a long historical relationship and today are major investors in each other's countries. Dubai has the largest British population of any city outside the UK.

“Visits such as this help strengthen the personal ties that will ensure a continuing firm relationship into the future. It is also an opportunity to show our solidarity with the people who live here in the light of the recent Houthi terrorist attacks.”

Mansoor Abulhoul, the UAE’s ambassador to the UK, said it was exciting to have the delegation visiting after the Covid-19 pandemic had halted such visits from about two years.

“This is the second parliamentary delegation to visit the UAE this year,” said Mr Abulhoul. “By seeing what the UAE has built, its openness to the world and its place in the region, policymakers in the UK and elsewhere can understand why the relationship between our countries is so important.”

Britain's Prince William visited the UAE on Thursday. The Duke of Cambridge toured mangroves in Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali Port before heading to Expo 2020 Dubai, where he did an impromptu meet and greet with thousands of people who came to see him. He also met Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince Dubai.

Prince William visits the UAE - in pictures