DUBAI (AFP) — Business Secretary Lord Peter Mandelson said on Tuesday British business had drummed up deals worth over 500 million pounds during a four-day trip to the oil-rich Gulf.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mandelson are on the last day of a trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which focused in part on building up business links with the region.
They travelled with a party of 27 leading business figures from companies including oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell and defence contractor BAE Systems.
Asked to put a figure on the value of deals signed, Mandelson said: "I can only put it in terms of hundreds of millions", stressing that deals were at different stages of development.
"If you really want to know my true opinion, the amount of goodwill that has been generated by this will far, far exceed the value of the immediate agreements."
Asked if the figure was over 500 million pounds he said: "Certainly". The deals cover sectors such as construction and energy.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
