Martin Uden

Visit by Rotherham Borough Council

In many countries, there are plentiful civic linkages and partnerships with regular visits back and forth between the towns.  But, not surprisingly, sheer distance between the UK and Korea means that there are very few such tie-ups between us.  So it was nice to get a note from Denis MacShane, MP, telling me that the Borough Council in his constituency of Rotherham was sending a delegation to a city close to Seoul.  I was able to have a long talk with them towards the end of their visit.

They had all found the visit truly worthwhile.  As so often, they discovered many things to admire and would hope to emulate in Korea, but also found reasons to be proud of what they do back in Rotherham.  I was able to point them towards the excellent Korean faculty nearby in the University of Sheffield, but we also hope that the connections made can lead to an increase in trade, investment and scientific links between Korea and Rotherham.  We will be able to follow up with someone from our UK Trade and Investment team visiting them to get down into more detail.

It was a long way to come for these local representatives, but I think they are so wise to appreciate that although the answers to many problems can be found at home, the insights gained from looking outside can often make those answers easier to find.  It’s also far from likely that the UK can pull itself out of the current economic crisis without exploiting our skills in international trade and investment. I’d be delighted to see more visits like this.

Posted at 16:48 01 May 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[3]