UAE marks St. David’s Day with celebration of Welsh culture and business

The Welsh government observed St. David’s Day, which celebrates the patron saint of Wales, on Wednesday with a night of Welsh culture, business and food, along with the British Embassy in Dubai and the Welsh National Opera.

More than 200 people attended the reception hosted by Welsh Cabinet Secretary, Lesley Griffiths, and British Ambassador to the UAE, Philip Parham.

The Welsh National Opera, which will take the stage this month at the Dubai Opera House, performed for the guests. It was followed by a cooking demonstration of Welsh lamb by world-renowned British chef Gary Rhodes.

"St. David’s Day presents us with a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our people, our history, our culture and, of course, our high-quality larder of food and drink produce. It also enables us, as a government, to reinforce our commitment to remaining an outward focussed and welcoming nation," said Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, at the reception.

Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the UAE said, "St. David’s Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate the culture, heritage and achievements of Wales and its people."

"Welsh people and businesses have had a real impact here in the UAE – from supplying equipment which keeps the Dubai metro moving to manufacturing the wings for all the A380s in Emirates and Etihad fleets. We wish you all a happy St. David’s Day," he added.

The success in business and industry was represented by a host of Welsh companies that were on site to discuss their products. Luxury car brand Aston Martin, which will soon be opening a new manufacturing facility in Wales, displayed two of their iconic cars at the event.

"We are pleased to be supporting the 'Wales-Business and Culture' reception, which aligns with the impending opening of our new manufacturing facility at St. Athan in Wales," said Andy Palmer, President and CEO of Aston Martin.

"We have been working closely with the Welsh Government and have recently begun construction of ‘Phase I’ of the facility, a real milestone in our 103-year history. We will build our first SUV at St. Athan and look forward to continued collaboration with both the Ministry of Defence and the Welsh Government in making this project work," he said.