The Sky’s the Limit

The one who knows what is best for an organization is one who knows it from the ground up – or in Enda Corneille’s case, from the sky down.

County Manager for Ireland at Emirates Airlines and Chairman of the Arab Irish Chamber of Commerce Enda Corneille would describe himself as ‘plane mad.’ In fact, he once dreamed of becoming a pilot.

In the late 1980s, while working for Aer Lingus, Enda passed the cadet test, passed the first interview, then before interviewing with pilots, he headed out on a two-seater aircraft with a young Aer Lingus First Officer, “so I knew what I was talking about,” he says. The instructor it turns out was a young Willie Walsh, current Director General of the International Air Transport Association and former CEO of Aer Lingus and British Airways.

So, to say Enda knows the business from the ground up is an understatement. His experience in the industry and in the Arab world saw him take on the role of Chairman of the AICC in 2019, focusing on making it easy to do business in the Arab world for members and the wider community. Here he tells us about mutually beneficial opportunities between Ireland and the Emirates and how the Chamber is uniquely placed to facilitate new opportunities.

One Stop Shop The Chamber exists as a one-stop-shop in facilitating Irish businesses exporting to the Arab world. We are always working to make the process easier and more straightforward for members and customers alike. The Chamber’s proprietary online certification system launch has been a huge innovation in making doing business in the Arab world more accessible than ever before.

Our board has also seen some changes with a renewed emphasis on prospective board members being active in doing business in the Arab world. This means that our board is now uniquely placed to understand the real challenges facing exporters doing business in this region. From this informed standpoint, we are well placed to drive the Chamber forward to the benefit of all. Commerce between Ireland and the Arab world has been growing strongly for many years, however, I believe we in the Chamber have more work to do in nurturing and developing the entrepreneurs and exporters of the future if the levels of growth we are seeing are to continue.

I believe education will be at the forefront of that process both in a business sense and culturally. The Chamber has a vital role to play in this regard, and 2022 will see the Chamber devote resources to this crucial area.

The Brexit Bounce The Arab world is proving itself an important prospect and an alternative channel to the UK for Ireland’s exporters. Companies in Ireland whose businesses have been negatively impacted by Brexit have a real opportunity here. This was evidenced by the remarkable growth in Irish exports to the Arab World during 2020, a rise of 6.4 per cent on 2019. We saw significant growth in exports from the food, technology and pharmaceutical sectors. The Chamber had to adapt quickly to respond to the increases in demand so no shipments would be delayed. This performance occurred despite the first pandemic and the second full year of Brexit impact.

The Irish Government and associated agencies such as Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia have been huge supporters of growing trade between Ireland and the Arab world. However, I believe even more effort is required, especially in the area of trade agreements between Ireland and the individual Arab states, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which account for 50% of overall exports to the Arab world. With Brexit continuing to challenge Irish exporters, the Arab world represents an enormous and developing market for Irish exporters to expand into and the Arab Irish Chamber is uniquely placed to facilitate this.

Travel to the Middle East has already snapped back, and the data I am seeing would suggest it will continue to increase through the current year as airlines return their schedules to pre-Covid levels, in line with market restrictions. Air cargo increases are significant and likely to increase in the medium term as Irish exporters grow their own businesses in the region.

One particular driver of business into the Middle East at present is EXPO in Dubai, which itself is a popular business hub in the Middle East and a growing centre for international trade. Although a global event with over 9 million visitors so far, EXPO is ideal for Irish exporters wishing to make initial contacts and learn more about new markets across the Arab world.

This market represents a unique opportunity for Irish exporters to sell into a growing, young, and vibrant basket of markets. I am confident that the significant levels of growth heretofore can be built upon into the future. However, as we saw during the pandemic, long term planning is fraught with uncertainty. This notwithstanding, we continued to see growth from Ireland during Covid, and I am confident this will continue.

Enda’s advice for those wishing to explore opportunities in the Arab states? As is the case for any new market, prospective exporters need to do plenty of research in advance of any decision to branch out to the Arab world. However, what is uniquely important in doing business in this region is to appreciate the cultural dimension of any potential trade relationship. Developing trust can take time, but it is time well spent. Exporters who have been particularly successful in the region have been mindful of the importance of investing this time at the start, rather than rushing things and expecting to be up and running quickly. While the rewards are certainly there to be had, travelling to the market, making contacts and developing relationships are critical if a company wishes to establish business relationships here.