The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, is embarking on a tour of the Middle East, leading one of the largest ever trade missions from Ireland.
114 companies are represented including 20 from Northern Ireland, reflecting the increasing co-operation among companies and business organisations on both sides of the border.
Mr Ahern arrives in Saudi Arabia later today along with the Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Micheál Martin, and the Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan.
The mission aims to highlight the market potential of this oil-rich region for Irish business.
Mr Ahern will have meetings with Saudi dignitaries during the first leg of the trip as well as delivering a major speech on the Middle Eastern situation at the King Faisal foundation.
In the United Arab Emirates later in the week he will visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi where the focus will once more be on business and trade.
The lucrative Gulf beef market is currently closed to this country following the BSE scare and the mission will provide an opportunity to take some tentative steps toward re-opening it.
