Lord Mayor visit to Qatar (18-20 February)

The Lord Mayor of the City of London Ian Luder headed a 35 strong business delegation to Qatar as part of a wider visit to the Gulf.

The programme for the visit to Qatar included high-level meetings with Ministers as well as representatives of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority, the Qatar Investment Authority and the Qatar British Business Forum.

Lord Mayor Ian Luder said: “Our relationship with Qatar continues to strengthen and on this visit I hope to build further on that relationship. The visit comes at a critical time: in recent months global financial markets have been rocked by the credit crisis which has spread around the world. Now, as we begin to re-build market confidence and financial stability, the value of trusted and close relationships, such as that between the United Kingdom and Qatar are more important than ever.

British Ambassador John Hawkins added: “We strongly welcome this high level visit. Building the trade and investment relationship between our two countries is a top priority for the British Government and this visit will greatly assist us in these efforts”.

The Lord Mayor traveled with a business delegation which includes senior representatives of investment banks, asset managers, insurers and law firms.

About the City of London

The City of London is one of the world’s leading international finance centres. As head of the City of London Corporation, which provides business and local government services to the City, the Lord Mayor of the City of London's principal role is ambassador for all UK-based financial and professional services. The Lord Mayor of London is not the Mayor of (Greater) London.

About the Lord Mayor of the City of London

The Lord Mayor is elected for one year and the position is unpaid and apolitical. It is an exceptionally demanding role. The Lord Mayor spends some 90 days abroad and addresses some 10,000 people face-to-face each month (making around 800 speeches a year).

The Lord Mayor listens to City businesses and helps the City Corporation advise the Government of the day on what is needed to help the financial services sector to function well. The Lord Mayor frequently travels to represent the City; and travels overseas with the status of a senior Cabinet Minister. The Lord Mayor, who is unpaid, lives in the Mansion House for the Mayoral year.