LONDON: The Gulf Cooperation Council remains an attractive destination for international investment despite regional uncertainty, with improved legal frameworks and demand for UK expertise offering opportunities to strengthen commercial ties, business leaders said on Oct. 20.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Faisal Al-Thani, CEO of Qatar Free Zones Authority, said the region had repeatedly demonstrated its resilience and could emerge from the current turmoil as a major investment hub.
“I’m optimistic that this (instability) will be behind us and that the GCC will remain and come back as a hotspot to do business,” he said during the UK-GCC Strategic Dialogue at London’s Guildhall.
“I want to see the GCC being the first (destination), not only Qatar,” he added, expressing hope that the region would continue to serve as an investment hub.
Sheikh Mohammed said investors were increasingly prioritizing resilience and stability alongside commercial returns. Qatar’s free zones are designed to meet that demand through a one-stop regulatory approach that brings together business permits and other requirements, allowing companies to focus on their operations.
The authority operates two free zones adjacent to Hamad International Airport and Hamad Port, linked by a virtual corridor designed to streamline the movement of goods by allowing customs clearance to be completed once.
Sheikh Mohammed said implementation of the UK-GCC free trade agreement would further strengthen trade between the two sides once it came into effect.
Gulf offers opportunities for UK expertise
For UK businesses, the region’s investment opportunities are increasingly linked to the ability to deliver complex projects at scale while helping develop lasting local expertise.
Jason Millett, CEO of Mace Group, said the GCC remained attractive to the company and its employees after nearly three decades of operating in the region, despite fluctuations in project viability.
“We’ve been in the region for nearly 30 years now,” he said. “So it’s still as attractive not only to us as a business, a global sole-play construction and programme management business, but it’s also very attractive to our people.”
Millett said the market had changed significantly during that period. With construction capacity having expanded across the GCC, he said the value UK companies could increasingly bring lay in their expertise and capabilities rather than simply adding capacity.
“We don’t expect going forward to be somebody who brings capacity,” he said. “That capacity, I’m pleased to say, has built across the GCC, and we’ve always advocated that construction should be local.”
Millett said that, despite projects across the region being rethought, he expected the next phase to focus on delivering mega-projects at new scales and within new timeframes, while also supporting smaller developments through local talent and expertise. The goal, he said, was to leave a lasting legacy of skills and knowledge rather than simply deliver individual projects.
Legal reforms strengthen investor confidence
Khalifa Al-Yaqout, managing partner of Al Yaqout and Al Fouzan Legal Group or YFLG, said clearer legal frameworks were also helping make Gulf markets more attractive to British investors.
Investors were looking beyond potential profits to the quality and transparency of the legal environment, the speed of commercial processes and the ability to enforce contracts, he said.
Kuwait had introduced or developed legislation covering arbitration, commercial matters and public tenders, while the establishment of economic courts was another important step toward strengthening investor confidence, Al-Yaqout said.
He added that countries across the GCC, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar, had been developing their legal frameworks to make them more investor-friendly.
For UK companies considering projects in the region, stronger legal protections can help reduce uncertainty and provide greater confidence that contracts will be honoured. For Gulf economies, access to UK expertise can support major developments while strengthening local skills and delivery capacity.