Foreign Secretary dispatches top diplomats to all parts of the UK to boost regional ties and deliver economic growth under the Government’s Plan for Change
British diplomats are visiting every corner of the UK this summer to build connections with British businesses and champion their interests overseas.
Ambassadors and High Commissioners are posted for long stints in other countries, and part of their brief is to get under the skin of the place where they are based. That includes getting to know the ins and outs of the business landscape, and spotting opportunities for British businesses.
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As part of a first-of-its-kind ‘domestic roadshow’, the Foreign Secretary has called some of the country’s top diplomats home to build relationships with mayors and regional businesses across all nations and regions of the UK so that they can represent them even better abroad.
Over 10 visits have taken place so far, with more planned throughout the summer and into the autumn. The goal of the roadshows is to strengthen ties between British regions and the UK’s closest economic partners, to drive economic growth and deliver part of this Government’s Plan for Change.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:
The roadshow follows the launch of the Government’s landmark Modern Industrial Strategy, with each roadshow stop designed to target one of the eight growth sectors, including defence, clean energy, life sciences, digital tech, advanced manufacturing, and financial services.
The senior diplomats, who include ambassadors to Italy, Spain, and South Korea, have been told to harness the expertise of regional entrepreneurs to unlock growth opportunities overseas.
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The UK’s Ambassador to Italy, Ed Llewellyn was in South Yorkshire last Friday (4 July) where he visited steel manufacturer Marcegaglia, which announced a £50 million investment in Sheffield during Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Italy last autumn. This investment will build a new clean steel electric arc furnace, supporting 50 new jobs directly and indirectly.
Ambassador Llewellyn also toured the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham – visiting Italian steel manufacturer Danieli and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), which is part of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult network of research centres.
Ambassador to Italy Ed Llewellyn said:
South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said:
Meanwhile Ambassador to Spain Alex Ellis was in Greater Manchester to attend a Business Roundtable with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and locally based businesses before meeting with the Leader of Manchester City Council, Councillor Bev Craig.
Ambassador Ellis visited the University of Manchester for a meeting with Professor Fiona Devine, Vice-President and Dean for the Faculty of Humanities.
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On 30 June, Ambassador to Belgium Anne Sherriff visited South Wales for a meeting with the Welsh Government’s Director for International Relations. She also visited CSA Catapult, a not-for-profit research and technology organisation based in Newport which supports start-ups, SMEs, large organisations, and academia to commercialise compound semiconductor technologies.
The first roadshow kicked off on Wednesday 25 June, as Ambassador to South Korea, Colin Crooks, headed to the North East of England. The ambassador visited firms linked to clean energy with a tour of the Tees Works freeport and met with the UK CEO of SeAH Wind, a South Korean company constructing a wind turbine manufacturing facility in Teesside.
The roadshow comes as the Government marks one year in office. It is part of a wider effort by the FCDO, under the Foreign Secretary’s leadership, to represent the interests of British businesses and consumers overseas and use its international networks to support in the delivery of the Plan for Change and a decade of national renewal.
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In a speech to the British Chambers of Commerce in March, the Foreign Secretary laid out a ‘new partnership’ between the Foreign Office and businesses to drive economic growth in the UK and ensure this Government is delivering for the British public.