2nd September 2011
Bucharest, Romania
I was in London last week for a packed one-day training to understand how the Foreign Office supports the overall work of the British Government to take forward the growth and prosperity agenda. Commercial diplomacy is a newly coined concept yet diplomats have always been looking out for business potential in their host countries, whether […]
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27th July 2011
Ottawa, Canada
British Consul General Alex Budden guest blogs for the High Commissioner from Vancouver. Where Olympic spirit remains high after the 2010 Winter Games. Today, in one year’s time, London will host the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. These are officially the 30th Olympiad to be held since the modern Olympics began in 1896 and […]
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22nd July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The following is a guest blog by Spencer Mahony, HM Consul & UKTI Regional Director for the South East US, British Embassy Washington. I love my job. One of the reasons I love promoting UK business is because of the variety of my work. Last week was a great example of the different ways in […]
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21st July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I spent Tuesday in Kecskemet, also known as the “Famous City”, the “City of Tolerance” (on account of the large number of churches in the centre) and, informally, the “Capital of Art Nouveau” – and there are certainly some splendid examples of secessionist architecture there. In addition to meeting the Vice Mayor (photo above), the […]
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18th July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Investment stock can be a more accurate and less volatile indicator of inward investment than flow, but the UK’s Office of National Statistics reported last month that the UK attracted £32bn in the inward investment in the first quarter of 2011 – it’s strongest quarter for over 3 years, and a huge leap from the […]
Read more on 388 reasons why US investors agree that Britain is the easiest place in Europe to do business | Reply
1st July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
It’s almost two years since I arrived out here in DC in the summer of 2009. The weather’s the same – hot and humid. But trade politics have got a lot more exciting. Many eyes are avidly watching what is happening on the Hill concerning the pending US FTAs with Korea, Colombia and Panama. It’s […]
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30th June 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Bribery damages international trade and business, undermines societies, and blights economic development. Like fraud, it damages free enterprise and adds costs to business. It is estimated that corruption adds up to 10% to the total cost of doing business globally, and up to 25% of the cost of procurement contracts in developing countries. In other […]
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30th June 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Britain’s new Bribery Act comes into force tomorrow, 1 July. From tomorrow, British nationals and British companies are subject to new rules which tighten and extend legislation governing their activities overseas. The Bribery Act makes it illegal to give or receive a bribe anywhere in the world. It also requires companies to take steps to […]
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27th June 2011
Bucharest, Romania
European leaders meeting in Brussels last week agreed that the regulatory burden on SMEs needs to be further reduced, something that the UK has very strongly argued for in its agenda for growth. The European Commission will therefore undertake to assess the impact of future regulations on micro enterprises and to screen the acquis to […]
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25th June 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
When President Basescu and David Cameron met in Downing Street on 6 June they agreed to work together to promote new growth in the European economy, including by reducing the regulatory burden on business. We took the first steps to implement this agenda at the European Council yesterday. Romania and the UK worked together to […]
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