With St Patrick’s Day this week, it marks a big week for Ireland, its people both at home and around the world, and for Irish businesses. Traditionally an annual moment to celebrate Ireland and all things Irish, it will be celebrated without the traditional parades and in person fanfare due to the pandemic. For Irish people residing across the Middle East much like the diaspora in Kuwait, it is a reminder of home, but also a reminder of what Ireland has achieved in the world, and a look ahead to what we will achieve next.
As we see the approaching distant light at the end of the tunnel, enabled by the progress of the global vaccination programmes, we look ahead with hope that the end of the pandemic is nearing, meaning some return to more way of living our lives. This leads to considering the future, a future that many, including us in Ireland, believe should be one being built back better – it is a time for us to focus on a world that is more sustainable, enabled by a greater focus on a thriving green economy, and one which we take more responsible actions towards some of the greatest environmental challenges of our lifetimes. As the Government of Ireland launches a new global campaign this week – ‘Ready for a Green Future’ – to coincide with St Patricks Day, it galvanises our drive towards to securing the future for our planet for generations to come.
At the heart of this approach are the green innovators of Ireland, the companies brimming with innovation who are leading the way around the world in providing solutions designed to tackle the challenges of our time in our journey towards greater sustainability. These Irish green innovators are solving complex technical challenges and delivering sustainable and low carbon solutions to make renewable energy viable; reduce energy waste in our cities with smart technology; reduce agricultural waste and are helping to make construction cleaner.
Irish companies are already working with companies in Kuwait and across the region to help deliver world leading innovative solutions that lead to reduced energy bills, reduced carbon emissions, and equipping companies with the data to make energy saving decisions in real time. Our Irish companies are enabling industries to thrive and deliver greater sustainability solutions in agriculture, construction and transport, making buildings greener, cutting pollution and supporting renewable energy production. Across the Middle East, we see more and more interest for the leading technologies operating as part of the green economy which Ireland is at the forefront of enabling as part of a greener future for the region.
A case in point is Hanley Energy, an Irish company providing customized, efficient energy solutions to the world’s most power heavy industries. Working across the Middle East, they are supporting the burgeoning data center industry with critical power and energy technologies that advance on operational efficiency and sustainability. They work across the globe with Hyperscale Data Center clients and services their in
market operations in both the UAE and Bahrain. Last year, they partnered with local indigenous business in both markets to provide better on-demand product support and enhanced client service on a host of operational levels. MENA looks set for continued technology and data centre growth, with Hanley Energy unveiling new plans to further expand their export footprint into more markets across the region.
With increased exports to Kuwait from Irish companies showing a year-on-year increase of over eight percent based on the level of exports for 2019, thistrend is set to only continue further. So, as we celebrate this St Patrick’s Day with the green of Ireland spreading around Kuwait, the wider region and the world, we also celebrate the start of the opportunity to emerge from the pandemic with greater hope for a more sustainable future, one with more optimism and one to be better equipped to be more resilient for the environmental challenges before us by being ready for a green future.
Mike Hogan is Regional Manager for the Middle East and North Africa at Enterprise Ireland – the Irish Government’s trade and innovation agency.
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