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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Turkey

5th June 2014

Helping your business grow internationally

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“The astonishing thing is that UKTI offers such a fantastic set of resources to help companies.”

I’m at an export promotion event in the North of England.  The speaker is a British exporter who has been working with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) for years.  He is keen to persuade other British businesses to do likewise.

I blogged recently about the challenge of bringing together the local knowledge of posts overseas and the needs of potential exporting firms across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom – in this case through UKTI’s new “Open to Export” website.

But just as important as new technology is the day-to- day work of gathering information about export opportunities and transmitting it to British companies.  That is where the huge range of UKTI services can be invaluable.  There is a handy guide at UKTI’s “Trade & Investment Services for Exporters” page – check it out.

While we’re on the subject, remember that UKTI is here to help companies of all sizes.  That includes small companies as well as medium-sized companies (the “M” in “SME”) of up to £250 million per year turnover.  We’re also here to support the largest companies, as we do every day here in Turkey.  And we can help with both trade opportunities and Turkish firms which want to seize profitable business opportunities in the UK.

If you’re interested in doing business in Turkey or in investing in the UK, do contact us on uktiturkey@fco.gov.uk, or if you want to find out more about UKTI services world-wide , check out the link above for everything from the tradeshow access programme through to the Overseas Market Introduction Service and the Passport to Export Service.

You may be surprised to see the help we can offer.

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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