The Lord Mayor of the City of London and Chancellor of City University London, Alderman the Lord Mountevans, highlighted clear synergies between London and Dubai’s finance and education sectors while on an official visit to the UAE this week.

Speaking last night at a reception for City University London’s Dubai Centre, which is located in DIFC, the Lord Mayor confirmed the importance of the education and finance sectors to both leading global cities, and how London can support Dubai’s vision to become one of the most innovative cities in the world.

He also reminded attendees, including alumni and business leaders from across the UAE, about Cass Business School’s successful nine year tenure in Dubai, its close working relationship with DIFC, and its role as a world class education provider, both within the Middle East and in London.

More than a 100 guests were in attendance for his speech, including the newly appointed Dean of Cass Business School, Professor Marianne Lewis, and Pro-Vice Chancellor (International), Professor Stanton Newman.

Talking at the event, the Lord Mountevans, Lord Mayor of the City of London and Chancellor of City University London, said:

“Dubai and London are natural partners given their shared ambitions for economic growth, job creation and development. This is particularly true in the financial and professional services and education sectors, where London has a huge amount of experience and expertise that it can offer the Emirate in terms of driving innovation.

“Cass Business School is an excellent example of a world class tie-up between these two great cities, but we need to see more examples of this, which will further support growth and create employment opportunities.

“City’s only overseas presence is the Dubai Centre, located here in the thriving DIFC, which demonstrates the importance of education to this region.”

There are over 100,000 British citizens resident in the UAE and around 50,000 Emiratis visit the UK each year. With approximately 170 flights each week between the UAE and the UK, trade and business relations between the two counties are both long-established and successful, with over 1 million British visitors travelling to the UAE every year.

Ehsan Razavizadeh, Regional Director & Head of Dubai Centre, City University London, said:

“Bilateral trade relations between the UAE and UK have never been stronger. The two countries have recently set a new target for bilateral trade that would more than double its current value to £25 billion (Dh140.60bn) by 2020, showing the thriving partnership between these two nations.

“London and Dubai share so many similarities, including leading financial hubs and education sectors. An ideal example of this is City University London, and City’s Dubai Centre. By flying in leading professors from the London campus, we ensure the highest quality of faculty is provided to our students.”

Last year, City University London announced it will join the University of London (UOL) in August 2016. UOL is one of the oldest, largest and most diverse universities in the UK. It is a collegiate University currently consisting of 17 self-governing Colleges and 10 other smaller specialist research institutes.

Earlier this month, City University London’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Curran, was honoured with a Knighthood in the New Year Honours, for his wide-ranging achievements in higher education.