Global conversations
A startling statistic – over half the businesses that get help from UK Trade & Investment go on to win additional sales of over £600,000 within two years. The UK’s trade performance is often discussed in the abstract, or at the macroeconomic level. People look at the effect on UK GDP or the balance of payments. But when it comes down to it, exports are all about British businessmen and … Read more »A startling statistic
I was in Dublin last week for Europe Day, where I gave a speech about the future of Europe. There is always a certain frisson when a European audience invites a British minister to speak. The late Baroness Thatcher said once that if you believed everything you read about our views on Europe, it would be like inviting Genghis Khan to speak about the virtues of peaceful co-existence. And it’s … Read more »Europe – the big debate
This week, at the British Embassy in Sarajevo, a memorial was unveiled to the 59 British personnel who lost their lives in the Bosnian conflict of the 1990s. Their sacrifice is a reminder of the strength of the UK’s commitment to a stable and secure Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the impact that conflict in the region has had on the UK. The memorial was unveiled by a company … Read more »Bosnia – time to move forward
Dealing with the legacy of conflict is a leading theme in foreign policy. The guns may fall silent, but years can pass before progress is made on a lasting settlement. That’s why this historic agreement between Serbia and Kosovo is to be profoundly welcomed. This is not the end of the story, but it is a major step in the right direction. And we should support the vision, courage, determination … Read more »Serbia and Kosovo’s historic agreement
Fishermen going out in all kinds of weather, catching healthy fish and then throwing up to two-thirds of them back into the sea, dead or dying: a wasteful, immoral policy that angered anyone who cares about conservation. It was a practice that never made sense, and this week it was agreed that it should stop. At half past five on Wednesday morning, my DEFRA colleague Richard Benyon and his German … Read more »A historic victory for common sense
Britain has a proud history of innovation. In the field of medicine and the life sciences, we’ve brought the world penicillin, unravelled the mystery of DNA, sequenced the human genome and developed MRI scanning. UK scientists have been awarded more than 70 Nobel Prizes. Most recently, in 2012, Cambridge Professor John Gurdon was recognised by the Nobel committee for his stem cell research. With four of the world’s top ten … Read more »Innovation Nation
London 2012 will be remembered as an event that created pride and excitement in the UK, and gave us the chance to show what we do best. Now it is Brazil’s turn, and it is the turn of Latin America. The first Olympic Games on this continent may be overdue, but it is certainly a sign of the region’s growing international influence. And Latin America really matters to the UK. … Read more »Why Latin America matters to Britain
For anyone who enjoys sitting down over the holidays and reading the newspapers, Christmas and New Year are open season for lists. And in 2012, there’s been a lot to talk about. We’ve seen colleagues from across Government emerging bleary-eyed from late-night negotiations in Brussels having won around new allies to our point of view, and having stood up for the interests of UK businesses and consumers. This matters because … Read more »List fever
The Rolling Stones may not have been foremost in the minds of Ministers as they agreed to open trade talks between the EU and Japan yesterday, but if the negotiations are successful, they could be among those that benefit. The decision to open negotiations between two of the world’s largest economies was a major success story for Britain after we put the issue back on the agenda last year. Alongside … Read more »Satisfaction
It’s not often that I blog about football, but this week I came across a truly inspiring story. Terry Nelson is a former Paratrooper who invented a suit that enables athletes to recuperate in water. He himself has represented our country and won a gold medal at the World Transplant Games in Vancouver in 1993. He is a survivor of two kidney transplants. His company TNAR spoke to our Embassy … Read more »Export Week