Dear Members and Friends,
My main ‘take’ from this week, with the team and I having had a number of very productive visits to ASEAN and Central European embassies in London, is just how much potential business is out there for UK exporters. It spans all aspects of ‘infrastructure’, but the focus has been very much around the net zero/environmental agenda which is full of serious intent from multiple governments and an area where so many of you demonstrate expertise and innovation, whether in ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ products. A particular interest from our visits has been in the sharing of skills and standards required to build capabilities. British TVET providers, UK qualifications and UK standards and regulation are held in high regard. Owning the ‘in-market’ skills and certification base may not provide the deal headlines associated with Trade success, but they are a valuable anchor in securing it. We will be focusing on this a lot during 2023. Our Skills and Training Working Group will provide a focal point.
Next week we are delighted to host our first in-person Education Working Group of the year. On 17th January we will be joint by senior representatives from the Department of International Trade and Department for Education who will give updates on the direction of the International Education Strategy. Moreover, they are keen to hear from our members experiences with the IES to date and how they consider the strategy should be further improved in order to accelerate the UK’s Education offering internationally. If you are interested to attend, please contact Lara.
Recordings of recent events can be found via this link. A summary of events in the next fortnight is as follows:
17th January 2023 09:30–11:00 GMT: FCDO Malawi: Development Priorities
Join us as we host Olympia Wereko-Brobby, the Development Director in Malawi for the FCDO who will present the Government’s development priorities and programming for the country.
17th January 2023 15.00–16.30 GMT: Peru Bilateral Trade Review — Infrastructure Workshop
British Expertise International, in partnership with OCO Global, is delighted to host an online workshop focusing on business opportunities in Peru for British exporters of services in the Infrastructure Sector. This event is now at capacity, but if you would like to be added to the waiting list please email kd@britishexpertise.org.
17th January 2023 16.00–19.30 GMT: Education Roundtable with DIT and DfE
Join us at British Expertise International’s offices on Tuesday 17th January from 16:00–19:00 for an in-person roundtable event and networking reception with the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Education (DfE) on the International Education Strategy and its future direction.
19th January 2023 16.00–19.30 GMT: Doing Business in the State of Victoria
Join us at British Expertise International’s offices on Thursday 19th January 2023 as we host an in-person event and reception with Tim Dillon, Agent General for Victoria to the United Kingdom and Commissioner for Victoria to Europe and Israel, for a session on doing business and sectoral opportunities in the state of Victoria, Australia. Please arrive from 16:00 for a 16:30 start. This will be followed by a networking reception from 18:00–19:30.
24th January 2023 9:30–11:30 GMT: Indonesia Education Deep Dive with DIT, FCDO & British Council
Join us for a deep dive into the education opportunities in Indonesia led by the Department for International Trade who will provide us with an insight into the key education priorities for UK plc looking to do business in Indonesia.
24th January 2023 15:00–16:30 GMT: Peru Bilateral Trade Review — Education & Skills Workshop
British Expertise International, in partnership with OCO Global, is delighted to host an online workshop focusing on business opportunities in Peru for British exporters of services in the Education and Skills Sectors
With our events programme now in full swing we look forward to seeing you in person in the coming weeks.
Very Best Wishes
Peter O’Kane
Chairman
British Expertise International/Strategy International
Longer Term View of Events
1st February 2023 10:00–11:30 GMT: Senegal Infrastructure Opportunities
Join us for a virtual deep-dive on infrastructure opportunities in Senegal. There are current opportunities for UK expertise on roads (toll roads, bridges), rail, and port development. There is a need for solar and wind renewable energy development for energy security and to increase grid stability at a national level.
7th February 2023 15:00-16:30 GMT: Climate TRACE – mobilising data to track GHG
Join us to learn about the work and mission of Climate TRACE. Their emissions inventory is the world’s first comprehensive accounting of GHG emissions based primarily on direct, independent observation.
Summary of events held in the last two weeks
Which feature links to meetings slides / recordings
12th January 2023 10.00-11.30 GMT: Cameroon Market Opportunity Overview
We welcomed Dr Christian Dennys-McClure, the High Commissioner and his team. They focused on insights into current opportunities in this market, including a special focus on the infrastructure sector - particularly roads, port development, energy capacity and renewables. Event slides and recording here.
Upcoming external events
26th January 2023 — Philippine Economic Briefing: This briefing will cover the latest developments on the Philippine economy and the Marcos Administration’s Socioeconomic Agenda. Hear the latest views on growth and inflation outlook from the Philippine Economic Team. Officials will also share the government’s spending priorities, fiscal and infrastructure programs, as well as recent reforms that further open the Philippine economy to 100 percent foreign ownership of public services and renewable energy.
1st February 2023 — UK-Kazakhstan 9th Intergovernmental Commission: The main objective of this event is to facilitate dialogue between UK and KZ Universities, strengthen connections, help parties understand more about each other’s interests and create a base for further cooperation.
20 & 21st February 2023 — Teacher Training Mission to Malaysia: The UK Department for International Trade (DIT) will lead a UK trade mission focusing on K-12 Teacher Training opportunities. The aim of the mission is to connect teacher training providers/specialists, government officials and education institutions leaders to learn about the latest thinking and innovations on Teacher Training Education. For more information, please contact Husna Hamimi Hashim on husna.hashim@fcdo.gov.uk
21st — 22nd February 2023 — World Water-Tech Innovation Summit, London: Join 400+ utilities, engineering firms, regulators, tech pioneers, investors and start-ups for two days packed with discussions and networking opportunities focused on energy efficiency and climate resiliency in the water industry. The summit’s early bird discount ends today — book now and save an extra 10% with code BE10: https://worldwatertechinnovation.com/agenda/
25th February — 5th March — “Sustainability & Education Immersion Week” In Panama. Providing the opportunity to visit and learn from government agencies, educational institutions and private sector to collectively collaborate in creating innovative instruments to boost student mobility, transnational education (TNE) (in the short- and medium-term) and Clean Growth (in the long-term).
UN International Procurement Seminar (UN IPS) on 7–8 March 2023 at the UN City in Copenhagen and the registration process. UNGM registration is required to participate in the UN IPS and request 1–2–1 meetings with UN Procurement officers. If your company is already registered on the UNGM, it is possible to already express an interest in participating on the link below (this expression is not a formal offer/acceptance). UN International Procurement Seminar, Copenhagen, 7–8 March 2023 (ungm.org)
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
