Peter Linford

'Rising commodity prices have been really good for the Australian economy and I can't remember a better time with low inflation, low unemployment and a stock market that has outperformed other global markets at a boom time,' says Australian Consul General and Senior Trade Commissioner, Peter Linford from his office with a panoramic view over Dubai from the new Burjuman Tower.

'It was not so long back that Dubai used to be just a stopover for Australian business on the way to Europe. But that has all changed since the year 2000 with more and more Australian companies deciding to base their staff here.

'I can think of one big architectural practice that used to win work and take it back to Australia. Now they have several hundred people in Dubai and it is the other way around. We have many expatriates in the service sector. Emirates Airline is the biggest employer with over 1,000 Australians and the hotels and Etihad also employ large numbers.'

In terms of GCC imports the number one Australian export is cars, the Toyota Camry, and the Chevy Lumina from General Motors. Second, is alumina for the aluminum smelters of the Gulf and third comes food and beverages from wheat to chilled beef and Fosters.

'But we like to measure our presence in terms of small and medium enterprises,' says Mr. Linford. 'I have seen SMEs grow from 70 to more than 400 registered in the UAE alone, around 250 in Dubai and increasingly scattered across the other emirates.

'We don't see anything holding back this expansion in the near future. Indeed, by 2010 there will be 126 flights a week from the GCC to Australia, including many by the giant new A380s, so there is going to be a huge increase in passenger and cargo capacity.'

However, the Australian Government is also working hard to encourage more Gulf students to study down under, and wants to gradually build up a hard core of student alumni in key positions in regional business.

'This year student visa numbers are up 22 per cent from the GCC to just over 3,500, not including a further 1,200 Saudi students about to be sponsored by a single ministry,' says Mr. Linford. 'For the UAE figures are up 23 per cent to 570 students.

'This is great for long term connections with the region. But there is also the more immediate benefit in that we estimate each GCC student will spend an average of $250,000 which is a bonus for the Australian economy.

'One challenge for us in the future may be to ensure our capacity to handle students from the Gulf as demand grows significantly and to ensure they are able to have quality access into the main 40 Australian universities.

'We are excited with the potential for growth, and with this we want to ensure the best standards available education for both the students and with the universities themselves. Of course, another answer and one we are keen to promote is for the expansion of offshore campuses like the University of Wollongong at the Dubai Knowledge Village.'

Dubai continues to act as a business hub for the Australian Diaspora but as a springboard to an ever widening region.

'For example, we are now encouraging companies to look at Libya as a commonsense next step once they have got established in Dubai. And there are enormous opportunities waiting in Iran if only the politics was right with huge demand, a young population and the resources to pay.'