After four years of catwalks and parachutes, it’s time to go

Dominic Jermey sums up his experience and achievements as Britain's ambassador to the Emirates

Ambassadors have a short shelf life. Three years is about the average, so I am a rarity to have been British ambassador in the UAE for more than four. A lot of important business has been achieved during this period – political, commercial and looking after the British community here. Between us, the UK and the UAE have established new and more effective ways of working with each other.

While all of that is immensely important, the whole point of being an ambassador is to represent your head of state.

In my case, the Queen gave me my “credentials” – a letter for Sheikh Khalifa – which I handed over personally. But what has been most extraordinary about this posting was that not only did the Queen visit the UAE in my first year, but Sheikh Khalifa returned the compliment two years later with his state visit to the UK.

Spending time with each head of state informally during these visits was an honour. The set pieces were impressive, but it was the conversations on the margins that I remember most vividly.

By definition, private conversations are supposed to be exactly that, but I really appreciated the privilege to engage on a much more personal level. These visits, for all the planning and hard work that went into them, were actually great fun.

Being an ambassador has allowed me to get to all sorts of amazing places in Emirati society. The aspect that I shall miss most is visits to the majlis.

I particularly love the eclectic conversations I have with the people I sit next to, frequently people I have never met before.

I have brought many British ministers into the majlis of the ruling families and they, like me, are always astounded by the numbers of guests, the range of discussion and the cultural detail – from the Arabic coffee and dates, the incense burners and even sometimes, poetry.

I have been fortunate to have been able to use my role as ambassador to support many worthy causes too.

Only a few weeks ago I hosted a reception for the UK-based charity Sightsavers that is focused on eradicating avoidable blindness around the world. And supporting the Future Centre for Special Needs children, through visiting and hosting their annual fund raiser each year, will always be remembered for its critical cause and above all, great kids. The organisation became even more relevant when the centre was there for one of my staff who needed it.

Defence issues are important here. There is plenty of bilateral military activity, much of it visible in terms of visiting ships and the Royal Air Force’s presence at air shows.

Going aboard the vessels has been a privilege. But it’s the scary parts that stick in the memory, like the time I was persuaded to do a tandem parachute jump with the Red Devils, the British army’s free fall parachute team.

Tumbling out of a plane 15,000 feet above the Palm Jumeirah has to be one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. They asked me to look up at the camera as I jumped, but I was too busy looking down at the view and wondering if I would live to talk to the TV crew waiting on the ground.

Most days are a little less spectacular. Meetings about business, security, regional politics and the British community fill the agenda, alongside the management meetings that go with leading one of the UK’s largest embassy teams.

But occasionally an opportunity comes up to approach things a little differently.

A couple of months ago, our UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) team led a large trade mission looking at luxury retail and the creative industries.

I got ready to do a speech as usual. And then it all changed and somehow the UKTI team persuaded me to model British clothing on a catwalk during a high-end fashion show.

I pouted. I strutted. I tried not to catch the eye of some Emirati friends in the front row suppressing their laughter.

What has all this achieved? That is probably not for me to say. But as well as being a really important post for the United Kingdom, as well as it being a privilege to serve such an historic and dynamic relationship, being Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the UAE for the past four years has been tremendous fun.

I hope my Emirati, British and expatriate friends have enjoyed it too.

Dominic Jermey is the British ambassador to the United Arab Emirates