Republic hopes to double annual trade with Saudi Arabia

Ireland hopes to double its annual trade with Saudi Arabia to €1 billion in value "very quickly", Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said in Riyadh yesterday.

Mr Ahern, speaking at the opening of the first Irish-owned business based in Saudi Arabia, said Irish exports to Saudi last year were €450 million, which was a 40 per cent increase on the previous year.

The year prior to that exports to the kingdom had been up 25 per cent.

"We could get up to a billion in trade very quickly," he said at the opening, which was attended by Dr Awad al Awad, the deputy governor of Sagia, the Saudi equivalent of IDA Ireland.

He said the importance Ireland placed on business with the Gulf region was indicated by the fact that more than 120 companies were represented on the Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Saudi.

Mr Ahern was speaking at the opening ceremony for the Saudi subsidiary of Dublin-based Vilicom, a telecoms company that provides engineering services to the 3G networks sector. Vilicom was set up in 1999 by three former Esat Digifone engineers and now has offices in Dublin, London and Saudi Arabia. The company employs 90 people in mostly highly skilled jobs and last year had a turnover in the region of €16 million.

"Vilicom is a good example of the new breed of Irish companies," Mr Ahern said. He said these new firms were looking for new opportunities and new partners in foreign ventures.

Vilicom director Joe Moore said the company had come to Saudi Arabia a short time ago for a once-off project for Nokia but quickly acquired an appreciation of the infrastructural plans of the Saudi government and the telecoms sector.

This led it to decide to set up in Riyadh and focus on Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region.

Mr Ahern yesterday also visited the offices of a new low-cost airline in the Gulf region, Sama Airlines, due to begin business in the coming weeks.

The new airline sourced its aircraft through Gecas aircraft leasing, and has signed a new €20 million aircraft maintenance contract with SR Technics at Dublin airport.

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, said the current trade mission to the Gulf was the largest ever in terms of the number of firms participating.

Speaking to the media after talks with the Saudi minister for commerce, Dr Hashim al Yamani, he said Saudi Arabia planned to spend €600 billion on new infrastructure over the coming decade and the minister had "invited Ireland to be part of that".

Saudi Arabia was "liberalising strongly and there is significant reform going on in its economy".

Dr al Yamani had told him that Irish companies could use Saudi Arabia as a "gateway" for business in the Gulf region and beyond, Mr Martin said.

A wide range of meetings took place yesterday between the Irish companies on the mission and possible Saudi clients.

Blackwater Engineering, a company based in Mallow, Co Cork, has announced a €700,000 contract to build silos for Almarai, the huge Saudi dairy company party established by Maastock International 30 years ago.