UAE-Mubasher: The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) will embark a three-day delegation visit to London from 13-15 April.

Representatives from Shurooq will meet with a number of key investment bodies in the British capital to reinforce Sharjah's ties with the UK, explore areas of cooperation, and highlight the emirate's position as an investment destination.

"We are delighted to commence our upcoming delegation visit to London, and look forward to holding fruitful discussions with many of the UK's most influential business bodies. Sharjah and the UK already enjoy excellent business relations, a relationship we are committed to strengthening over these three days," said Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of Shurooq.

"We will take the opportunity to showcase Sharjah's most promising investment propositions, in sectors spanning from travel and leisure, to the environment, transport and logistics, and healthcare," he noted.

Bilateral investment between the UK and UAE is growing rapidly. The UK investment in the UAE reached AED 30.8 billion in 2011, while the UAE invests over £5 billion in the North Sea.

There are more than 100,000 UK expatriates in the UAE and more than one million British visitors each year to the Emirates.

Meanwhile, bilateral trade between the two countries reached £12 billion in 2012. The UK has nearly 400 trading companies, close to 800 trading agencies, and over 8,000 trademarks registered in the UAE.

In terms of Sharjah, a British firm was recently awarded a contract worth £343 million to build the world's largest advanced thermal energy-from-waste facility in the emirate.

Shurooq 's key mission is to provide facilities and incentives to help overcome obstacles facing investment activities in Sharjah, evaluate investment-related infrastructure projects, and lay down the necessary plans to complete such projects.