Dear Members and Friends,
I have just come back from three weeks in India. In brief? If you are in practically any line of business and have not visited, then do so. Soon. Once the bottling up by bureaucracy and trade barriers of the potential of over a billion utterly energetic people is removed, or even just diluted, this could have an impact on UK supply chains not a long way short of China’s opening up in the 90’s. You need to understand it - the threats and opportunities. And unlike China, India shares our language, democracy, a familiar legal system and........cricket. Most Indians can explain what a Yorker, Googly and Off-break are; and just who/what is ‘silly point’.
In this week’s newsletter Luisa reflects on the Skills and Training Working Group event this week, Alexandra on a conference on Ukraine recovery, Ingrid introduces us to new member M&C Saatchi and shares her thoughts from spending the last few days at Sandhurst with the Future Leaders Group.
I’d like to remind you all of the forthcoming exciting sequence of Vietnam events: a stunning Art exhibition, Minister Graham Stuart addressing energy transition, and Mark Garnier- the PM’s Trade envoy to Vietnam - talking on 18th April. Dates and details all below. I’m also delighted to share BFPG’s very interesting piece on Vietnam’s potential contribution to bolstering UK access to the key rare earths that are embedded in mch of the electric/net zero economy.
I wish you all an enjoyable weekend, although it’d be nice if Spring hurried up and arrived on schedule.
Warm regards,
Peter O’Kane
Chairman
British Expertise International/Strategy International
Recordings of recent past events:
- Market Opportunity Overview: Uganda - BEI hosted a fascinating session with a delegation from the Department for Business & Trade learning about the pipeline of opportunities across varying sectors, such as education, green energy and infrastructure.
Key events coming up include the following:
- 28th March 2023 10:00- 11:30 BST: Morocco Infrastructure Opportunities - The relationship between the UK and Morocco is entering a new era of positive relations following the UK-Morocco Association Agreement in 2022. Recent discussions have focused on renewed collaboration on trade, education, climate, clean energy and green growth, as well as the global implications of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on food and energy security.
- 28th March 2023 15:00-17:00 BST: Education Roundtable in Latin America and The Caribbean with Department for Business and Trade - Join us for an in-person presentation led by Kelly Tavares Department for Business and Trade (DBT)’s Head of Education in Latin America and The Caribbean (LATAC). Kelly will provide an overview on education opportunities for UK organisations in the region with a focus on DBT’s priority markets: Brazil, Mexico, Commonwealth Caribbean, Panama, and Columbia.
- 29th March 2023 18:00–21:00 BST: Colours of The Motherland - In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Viet Nam - UK diplomatic relations, the Embassy of Viet Nam and the Mayfair-based gallery, D Contemporary, are delighted to announce the group exhibition, Colours of the Motherland. The exhibition, which runs from 28th March to 7th April, is part of a larger cultural event supported by the Embassy and combines a range of styles by contemporary artists, ranging from traditional, highly intricate lacquer and silk works to free-flowing figurative and representational pieces.
- 30th March 2023 9:00-10:30 BST: Global Victoria: Education Opportunities - Global Victoria, the State Government of Victoria's trade facilitation agency will be joint by Invest Victoria, the State Government of Victoria's investment attraction authority in presenting a range of education opportunities in the State on K12, skills and training, and education technology.
- 30th March 2023 18:00-21:00 BST: Discover Viet Nam | Lectures and Fashion Show - The Embassy of Viet Nam and D Contemporary, are delighted Present ‘DISCOVER VIET NAM | Lectures X Fashion Show'. A lecture series, led by Dr. Sud Chonchirdsin, former Curator for Vietnamese at the British Library. Dr. Jessica Harrison-Hall, Head of China Section, Curator of Chinese Ceramics, Decorative Arts and the Sir Percival David Collection. The lectures will be followed by a fashion show featuring Collections by Lan Huong and Jordan Nguyen.
- 4th April 2023 16:00-19:00 BST: Roundtable with Rt Hon Graham Stuart MP, Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero - Join British Expertise International on 4th April from 16:00 – 19:00 for an in-person roundtable with Graham Stuart, the Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. Minister Graham will provide an update on the recent international agreement to support Viet Nam’s Net Zero 2050 goal, as well as the UK government’s commitment to the agreement and the commercial opportunities available to UK enterprises.
- 6th April 2023 10:00-11:15 BST: Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon Education Deep Dive with DIT - Join us for a deep dive into the education opportunities in Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon as led by teams from the Department for International Trade and Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. They will aim to provide us with an insight into the key education priorities for UK plc looking to do business in the three countries.
- 11th April 2023 12:30-13:30 BST: UKEF and Global Britain - Immediate and medium-term region and sector priorities - Join us Tuesday 11th April from 12:30-13:30 for a roundtable discussion with Tim Reid, the Chief Executive of UK Export Finance (UKEF), discussing ‘UKEF and Global Britain -- Immediate and medium-term region and sector priorities’. The discussion will include current challenges, such as the crisis in Ukraine as well focusing on medium-term priorities, such as U.K. expertise assisting energy transition.
- 12th April 2023 16:00-19:00 BST: Girls Education Challenge: Lessons Learnt - In-person panel event on the Girls’ Education Challenge, a 12-year FCDO flagship programme. We will be joined by the FCDO Girls’ Education Team as well as the alliance partners including Cambridge Education Mott MacDonald, Social Development Direct, PwC, Nathan Associates, and Tetra Tech.
- 13th April 2023 15:00-16:30 BST: Brazil - Opportunities in the Water Sector - Brazil has some of the highest water availability in the world, but is unfortunately hindered by outdated WASH infrastructure. There is a huge need to accelerate access to water and sanitation across the country. This session will showcase some of the exciting current opportunities for UK expertise across water infrastructure and technology.
- 18th April 2023 16:00-18:00 BST: Roundtable with Mark Garnier, UK’s Trade Envoy to Viet Nam - Join us for an in-person roundtable with Mark Garnier, the United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy to Viet Nam who will provide members with his vision for Viet Nam as the newly appointed Trade Envoy. BEI members will also have the opportunity to share with Mark their business perspectives on Viet Nam.
- 19th April 2023 16:00-18:30 BST: In conversation with Andrew Dunnett - In-person roundtable meeting with Andrew Dunnett, Group Director of ESG, Sustainable Business and Foundations at Vodafone. Andrew will lead a discussion on the importance of ESG and private sector’s role in implementing impactful ESG programmes.
- 20th April 2023 15:00-16:30 BST: Understanding Climate Risks - Our panel will discuss the transformation of climate risk into financial risk for business, as well as the thought processes utilised by financiers in selecting what organisations and projects to finance based on how they analyse their risk portfolio.
- 26th April 2023 13:30-15:30 BST: Roundtable with Mark Eastwood, UK’s Trade Envoy to Pakistan - Mark Eastwood, the United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy to Pakistan who will speak to the subject of Government-to-Government discussions between the UK and Pakistan on infrastructure, renewables, and education, and will provide members with an update on the current trade dialogue between the two countries.
- 27th April 2023 11:00-14:00 BST: Donor Clinic: Doing business with USAID, in partnership with Konektid International - In-person donor clinic workshop on Doing Business with USAID, in partnership with Konektid International. Mike Shanley, CEO of Konektid International will share best practice on growing your organisations’ work with USAID, funding opportunities and tips for navigating the procurement process, as well as changes to USAID funding following the New Partnerships Initiative and Biden Administration.
- 16th May 2023 10:00-11:30 BST: The Social Impacts of Energy Transition in Africa - This event will examine some of the social impacts of energy transition on the African continent. We will hear from our panel on their experience of what they are already seeing on the ground in markets that have seen the swiftest transition to renewable energy sources and discuss the potential future in terms of where our panel see the energy transition bringing the greatest societal benefits – and challenges – in the short and longer term.
- 16th May 2023 15:00-16:30 BST: Peru infrastructure pipeline with ProInversión - We are pleased to welcome Peru’s promotion agency, ProInversión, who will provide an overview of the latest infrastructure pipeline including projects in energy, highways and water treatment plans. ProInversión is a specialized technical agency, attached to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, with legal status under public law, technical, functional, administrative, economic and financial autonomy.
- 18th May 2023 12:30-14:30 BST: Meet the Trade Envoy for Bangladesh, Rushanara Ali - Rushanara Ali MP. Rushanara will provide members with an overview of the future developments and market priorities in Bangladesh, as well as upcoming Government-to-Government plans and future engagements between the UK and Bangladesh which may be of interest.
- 31st May 2023 16:00-19:30 BST: Road Freight Decarbonisation in Latin America - Join us as we delve into the current challenges and opportunities for decarbonising road freight globally, with a focus on the Latin American region. We will explore solutions and decarbonisation roadmaps in Latin American countries and the potential for UK stakeholders to collaborate and transfer knowledge, experiences and capacities to contribute to the decarbonisation of road freight in the region.
- 4th July 2023 12:00-15:00 BST: Roundtable with Nick Dyer, Director General, Humanitarian and Development - Join us for an in-person roundtable with Nick Dyer, Director General, Humanitarian and Development. Nick will provide an overview of the UK’s International Development Strategy (IDS) and address the key priorities for the UK in delivering humanitarian aid.
For an overview of our planned events for the early part of the year, you can see a useful infographic here: BEI Winter/Spring Events Programme 2023
Register for an upcoming event →
External Events
- 5th April 2023 9:00-16:30 BST: Completing the Elizabeth line: Sharing the learnings from Crossrail - Crossrail is holding a free, one-day conference to share the learnings from the completion of the project and the introduction of the Elizabeth line. The day will be divided into themed sessions with presentations and Q&A panels, ranging from project leadership and systems integration to bringing the railway into use – as well as how Crossrail’s legacy can be carried forward to improve current and future rail infrastructure projects.
Not a member?
Learn more
For more information about British Expertise International:
- Sign up to receive this Weekly Update
- View our upcoming webinar events
- Becoming a member
- Follow us on Twitter
- Join our Linkedin group
.jpeg)
