Birmingham City Council has signed a five-year deal with Abu Dhabi in a bid to win more overseas investment for the West Midlands city.

Council leader Mike Whitby today announced that Birmingham has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government in Abu Dhabi (pictured). Under this agreement, the Abu Dhabi government would set up meetings with wealthy investors in the capital of the United Arab Emirates in return for advice on setting up a local government structure.

Whitby said the partnership offered opportunities for Birmingham, the largest local authority in Europe, to access to some of the “wealthiest and most ambitious” investors in the world.

He said: “For too long the rest of the world has only really had the capital city pushed as the major investment possibility in the UK. Today we are starting the journey that says that Birmingham offers unrivalled opportunity as a city ripe for global investment.

“We will work with those people that share our vision for the city and with projects like the Big City Plan we can show people the future potential of Birmingham.

“We have been looking to develop the many commercial and cross cultural opportunities that exist for the city of Birmingham outside of the UK, and in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi we have found a partner that parallels our thinking and our vision of excellence.”

Last month, Whitby was forced to deny claims that the council was planning a big sale of its assets, including the National Exhibition Centre and Symphony Hall.

However, Whitby did say that in order to develop assets and release capital, public-private partnership arrangements with Middle Eastern investors  were on the cards.

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