WA well placed to capitalise on status as Australia's gateway to Middle East

27/10/97

Western Australia is well placed to capitalise on its status as Australia's gateway to the Middle East, according to Commerce and Trade Minister Hendy Cowan.

Addressing a meeting of the group Australian Business in the Gulf, Mr Cowan said there was increasing recognition that WA had a broad range of products and services to offer in addition to traditional agricultural commodities such as wheat and livestock.

"It is important that WA carves out a niche in this affluent region," he told the meeting in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"For its part, Dubai would be ideally suited as WA's gateway to the Middle East for very many industry sectors."

Mr Cowan was in Dubai at the start of a nine-day trade and investment mission to the Middle East.

The Minister said WA's trade and investment strategies had broadened in recent years to focus on opportunities in the geographical region based around the Indian Ocean.

"That broader focus will take us beyond Asia and opens up new areas of trade development," he said.

Mr Cowan said WA had much to offer in the area of services, technology transfer and expertise.

Fast ferries, telecommunications, alternative energy, oil and gas services, education, health and medical services were all potential growth areas.

WA's Western Power had already targeted the UAF through a joint bid with the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation for major consultancy work associated with a US$200 million gas turbine power station for the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.

There was also potential for co-operation in the fight against salinity, a problem facing both WA and the UAE.

Mr Cowan said the decision by the UAE to open an embassy in Australia recently clearly demonstrated the strong and expanding opportunities for bilateral trade between WA and the Emirates.

While in Dubai, Mr Cowan also met senior UAE business people and Government officials, including the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Saeed Al-Raqbani.

Media contact: Peter Jackson 9222 9595