Anti-Dubai bile in British press not shared by the government, says UK spokesperson

Wilkes added that the financial crisis is a global one and that the international community is together in the efforts to fight it.

Wilkes was speaking to the media on the ongoing visit to the region by Peter Mendelson, the British Secretary of State for Business, accompanied by a large delegation consisting of top government officials and business leaders.

The high level British delegation reached Abu Dhabi yesterday and is scheduled to visit Dubai today.

"Great Britain considers the business and other relations with the GCC countries as exceptionally important, particularly in light of the current financial crisis. Dubai and the gulf region are better equipped to deal with the crisis than many other parts of the world on account of the region's enormous financial and natural resources. The UAE is the third largest market in the GCC for British businesses,"

Wilks added.

Speaking on the visit of the delegation to Iraq, the British spokesperson said the security situation in Iraq had undergone a sea change, despite occasional spurt of violence.

"The UK government is committed to taking advantage of the business opportunities currently available in Iraq. The Iraqi government is now equal to the task of ensuring security for businesses and the workforce. The situation has improved so much so that the British foreign secretary was recently able to walk around the streets in Basra and interact with ordinary people. He was given protection not by the British forces or Americans, but the Iraqi authorities," he pointed out.

Answering questions on the G-20 summit and the issue of restructuring global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund, Wilks stressed that the UK stood by the demands for the restructuring and reform of these institutions by incorporating the concerns of the developing world and ensuring a greater say for them, particularly for countries such as China, India and Brazil.

"Our position on this issue is very clear. We feel the time has come for appropriate measures to make sure that global financial institutions are run in a way that reflects the changed realities of the world," he added.