Joint 'Qatar-UK Business and Investment Forum' will be held on 27 and 28 March to secure investment across the UK.

Birmingham and London are set to host the largest ever business delegation from Qatar as part of the Government's drive to create a Global Britain that works for all parts of the UK.

 The first day of the Forum will be held in London where Qatari businesses will showcase the opportunities that their diversifying economy offers to the UK.

Birmingham will host the second day of the joint Qatar-UK Business and Investment Forum, where UK firms will showcase high-profile 'investment-ready' projects.

 Both days are expected to result in a number of landmark agreements amounting to significant levels of new investment, potentially generating billions of pounds across the UK including for the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine.

 The event will bring together Ministers and senior government representatives from Qatar and the UK including the International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox and the HE Qatar's Minister of Finance Ali Sharif Al Emadi. Hundreds of high-profile businesses executives, council leaders and academics are also expected to attend across the two days.

 HE Qatari Minister of Finance Ali Sharif Al Emadi said: "Qatar and the UK have a long and productive shared economic history and we will build on this partnership as the UK shapes a new role for itself in the world." "Our plan to forge a competitive knowledge economy is accelerating, providing new opportunities for UK businesses, while our plans for further investment in the UK will deliver job growth throughout the country," he added.

 UK's International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said: "As a Government we are clear that we want to build a stronger, fairer Britain where wealth and opportunity are spread across every community, not just in London and the South East. Hosting this event in Birmingham gives us the chance to show investors the untapped potential that exists in this and other parts of the country." He went on saying: "By making the UK a beacon for free trade around the world we are backing businesses to invest in the long-term future of Britain and creating the conditions for them to thrive." Qatar is the UK's third largest export market in the Middle East and also accounts for GBP 35 billion of existing investment in the UK. Bilateral trade is valued at more than GBP 5 billion per year and the relationship between the two countries continues to go from strength to strength.

 The British Prime Minister Theresa May has made building on existing links between the UK and the Gulf a priority. On her visit to the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) in Bahrain in December last year the Prime Minister expressed her commitment to a true partnership between the UK and Qatar encompassing security and defense as well as trade.