Happy New Year to all our readers!
First of all I would like to welcome Nick White, our new Deputy Head of Mission (DHM), to the Embassy team. He comes to us with previous Paraguay experience – a real plus – and is married to a Paraguayan – an even bigger plus! I’ll leave Nick to explain more about the role of a DHM and to share his first impressions on returning to Paraguay, in a future blog.
What does the Embassy have planned for 2016?
A top priority is to increase levels of bilateral trade and investment. We have set ourselves the ambitious target of tripling UK exports by 2020.
Since opening its doors in June 2015 the British Business Centre in the Embassy has provided support to some 25 British companies interested in doing business in Paraguay. They include a mix of big multinationals from the infrastructure sector medium-sized companies working in agriculture.
I expect more British companies to visit in 2016 as the word gets out that there is good niche business to be done in Paraguay.
Strengthening education links is another priority for 2016, building on last year’s achievements: hosting of the first ever UK universities fair in Paraguay and signature of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) between the British government’s ‘Chevening’ and the Paraguayan government’s ‘Carlos Antonio Lopez’ (Becal) scholarship programmes. This strategic alliance should double the number of Chevening scholarships for young Paraguayans interested in studying in the UK.
I expect Becal to sign additional agreements with British universities that should open up yet more post-graduate places for Paraguayan students in the UK.
I am convinced that investing in young people is the best investment the British Government can make in the future of Paraguay.
2016 will also see a further strengthening of our defence and security relationship with Paraguay, with the delivery of more strategic-level training to the military and police.
The Embassy will commemorate a number of important anniversaries this year, most notably HM The Queen’s 90th Birthday and the 400th anniversary of the death of the playwright, poet and actor William Shakespeare – a truly GREAT Briton whose legacy lives on today across the globe. Watch this space for more details on cultural and commercial events during ‘British Week’ in September.
I hope you will continue to read our blogs and follow us on facebook and twitter social media in 2016.