13th February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
In the Palm Court of the British Consulate-General in Istanbul, staff are gathered from British Embassies in eight South Caucasus and Central Asian countries1 ranging from Georgia in the west to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in the east. Trade and Investment specialists from the British Embassy in Moscow and from UK Trade and Investment in London as […]
Read more on Helping British Businesses from Istanbul to Bishkek to Moscow and beyond | Reply (2)
1st February 2013
Seattle, USA
After three and a half years of leading the British Embassy in Washington’s trade policy and business affairs team, I’ve taken up a new assignment. Still in the US, happily, and a lot closer to the mountains. Still has “Washington” in the address. Still working on prosperity, trade and investment. But on the other side […]
Read more on The Brits are back in Seattle | Reply (3)
28th January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Why is the Turkish company HDM Steel setting up a £7m manufacturing plant in South Wales? Take a look at the world. Think about countries where you might possibly imagine investing your money. Do they have a solid record on stability and democracy? Do they rank highly on ease of doing business, with a predictable […]
Read more on Why is everyone investing in the UK? Why aren’t you? | Reply
25th January 2013
Toronto, Canada
Earlier this week, Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts gave a speech at the Policy Exchange on “eight great technologies” which will help the UK grow and prosper over the next decade. You can read the speech here, the BIS press release here and the Policy Exchange pamphlet here. Let’s look at each technology […]
Read more on Eight great technologies | Reply (3)
19th December 2012
USA
I should confess that while I am not Scottish I would quite fancy being Scottish for a while. The Scots, like the Irish, are renowned for being people who love to live life to the fullest. They produce God’s finest water (Scottish whiskys are seeing their exports to the US and most others markets rocket […]
Read more on Scotland – it never ceases to surprise me | Reply
7th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Many people in London, and other parts of the UK, think they know a good deal about the Mayor of the capital, Boris Johnson: judging from the number of British tourists who greeted him in hotels or on the streets of Mumbai he must also be one of our most widely recognised politicians. Less well […]
Read more on The return of Boris to Bollyland: 48 hours of business | Reply (1)
30th November 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Why does trade between countries help prosperity? Many people might say that the answer depends on your politics. But the most open trading economies in the world do tend to be comparatively wealthy. Most of those which seek to cut themselves off from the rest of the world (I won’t name them but you know […]
Read more on Why trade is win-win – for Turkey and the UK | Reply
30th November 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
One of the British Government’s top economic priorities is promoting international investment in the infrastructure needed to support growth and prosperity, such as transport and energy. So I addressed the annual Australian Super Fund Association conference (ASFA 2012) in Sydney to set out the opportunities for Australian superannuation funds. In my speech I described the […]
Read more on Promoting Australian investment in UK infrastructure | Reply
12th November 2012
Warsaw, Poland
Good afternoon and a great big welcome to UK Global Export week. This is a massive push to get the UK exporting. Great news – Emerging Europe hits the road today on a nationwide tour of the UK to promote our region – 9 countries of strategic opportunity which last year topped the UK rankings […]
Read more on EMERGING EUROPE hits the Road – the start of a nationwide UK tour | Reply
19th October 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, is not noted for its mild climate. In fact it is amongst the world’s coldest capitals, with temperatures regularly below minus 30 in the winter. But at the centre of the city a huge atrium houses dozens of palm trees, surrounded by students and professors going about their business. […]
Read more on Palm Trees in Kazakhstan | Reply (1)
