Annual trade between Dubai and the UK is worth around US $9.6 billion, and the UAE as a whole is Britain’s sixth biggest overseas market

The Gulf emirate is ideally placed geographically and economically for 21st-century growth, with DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) playing a central role.

Trade routes are the stuff of legend, bringing exotic goods, wealth and new ideas across the globe. Historically, the Silk Road linked the major ancient civilisations of China and the Roman Empire; the Spice Route maritime passages went from the East Indies to Europe; and frankincense and myrrh were transported on the Incense Route from the Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean.

Beads were traded along the Amber Route between the Baltic and Egypt; the Tea Route ran from China through Tibet to India; and the Salt Route went from Ostia, near Rome, across Italy to the Adriatic coast.

The Emirate struck oil in 1969 but today black gold accounts for less than 1% of its GDP. 

On a sunny October morning just over three decades ago, an unknown airline from a little-known city took to the sky for its inaugural flight. With scarce resources, the airline had leased two planes from Pakistan International Airlines for those first journeys to Karachi.

Today, Emirates Airline -- based in Dubai -- is a global aviation giant. Its distinctive logo is splashed across the shirts of Premier League football teams and adorns the courts at global tennis tournaments. With a passenger capacity of more than 60.5 million at the end of 2016-17, it is the world's largest international carrier.