British Foreign Office Minister Valerie Amos is expected to arrive on Tuesday, 18 February to head a mission of UK businesspeople interested in developing trade with the Dominican Republic. British Ambassador Andy Ashcroft said that Amos is the highest-ranking British government official to visit the country since diplomatic relations were reestablished in 1995. Ashcroft appeared on the Guillermo Gomez TV program Aeromundo, where he stated that British investment is strong and growing in the Dominican Republic. He cited the US$125-million contract signed by Mabey & Johnson for the construction of bridges and Biwater International’s involvement with the construction of aqueducts for US$188 million. He also mentioned that there has been a considerable increase in UK trade, saying that Dominican exports to the UK last year stood at US$75 million, up from a previous US$40 million, as reported in Diario Libre. He estimates British investment in the DR to be approximately US$600 million, factoring in the Unilever and British American Tobacco investments. British-based Thomas Cook Airlines recently purchased Lufthansa’s Condor operations, increasing British ties to the Dominican travel market. Condor currently flies to Las Americas (Santo Domingo), Puerto Plata and Punta Cana airports.