A delegation of senior barristers has begun a visit to the Gulf this week in a bid to promote the English Bar.

The Bar Council group. led by chairman Nicholas Green QC (pictured) and chairman-elect Peter Lodder QC, will visit Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The group will comprise members of the council's international committee, and senior representatives of its secretariat. It will hold meetings with members of the financial services sector, senior government figures and top lawyers and academics.

The trip is part of a wider effort by the council to promote links with the legal systems, structures and legal professions of other jurisdictions. It follows a trip to China in September.

Green said: 'This is the Bar Council¹s third trip to the Gulf in successive years, demonstrating our commitment to building long-term relationships with the legal and business community in the region.

'During our visit, we will be discussing the ways in which the Bar Council can support the work of legal professionals in the Gulf, focusing in particular on some of the Bar's specialisms including commercial arbitrationand litigation, regulation, taxation, trusts and structured investments and business immigration.'

He added: 'The Gulf is a growing centre of legal expertise and innovation and the bar has much insight to gain from the evolution of legal practice in the region. We are especially interested to learn more about the positive innovations in dispute resolution mechanisms and the ways in which we might provide more choice for clients.'