DIT and Kemi Badenoch Reception
DIT had a welcoming and informative reception on Monday. Joined by her senior management team and UKEF’s new CEO, Tim Reid, Secretary of State Kemi Badenoch was a very engaging presence, spelling out the department’s top five priorities. “Remove trade barriers. Grow UK exports towards reaching the £1trn per annum export target . Make the UK the most attractive inward investment location and ensure these contribute to ‘Levelling up”- delivering prosperity across the UK. Conclude the India trade and CPTPP agreements. Promote UK leadership in technical standards and certification.”
India Day Celebrations
The Indian Independence Day reception, commemorating the 74th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution, took place at the Guildhall and - as national day receptions go - was a particularly sparkling occasion, including a Gurkha band and traditional Indian song and dance. The relatively newly arrived High Commissioner, HE Vikram Doraiswami, spoke eloquently both about the meaning of the constitution to Indians, India’s spectacular growth in the past three-quarters of a century and the depth and breadth of the bilateral relation, with the British Indian community playing a central role in so many aspects of British life from business to healthcare. The UK Government was represented by Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmed, who spoke about his own family’s background in India as well as the good the UK and India can do together around the world, and Nick Gibb, Education Minister. As always, there was a very strong attendance both from leading figures across UK society, including business, and from prominent members of the British Indian community.
UK:Mongolia – 60th Anniversary
Monday night marked the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the United Kingdom. As part of ongoing celebrations, H.E. Mr. Enkhsukh Battumur, Ambassador of Mongolia to the United Kingdom, hosted an excellent reception at the Dorchester, joined by the Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia H.E. Mr. Amarsaikhan Sainbuyan, and UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Mongolia Daniel Kawczynski MP. It was stressed that ongoing collaboration in the fields of geology, mining, heavy industry, and energy transition between the UK and Mongolia were welcome to continue to foster strong relations between the two countries. We look forward to engaging shortly with the Trade Envoy to explore the practicalities of deepening the relationship in these key areas.
Vist to HR Wallingford
Peter O’Kane this week visited the team and facilities at HR Wallingford, a global specialist in ‘all things to do with water’: state of the art flood forecasting & prevention, clean water, water power, port design. The site contains Europe’s largest third generation tsunami simulator, the world’s largest marine test facilities, world-leading ship simulation centres and more spread over three 14,400m² purpose built halls.. It was an intriguing day spent with CEO Bruce Tomlinson and some of his team seeing another example of absolutely class- leading specialist UK technical excellence and the impact it is making on key global challenges around environmental understanding and protection. The facilities and technology on display at their U.K. base are extraordinary . 'World - beating ' is a much overdone phrase , particularly from U.K. politics . But it applies here , as it does across so many of our members. And it's worth taking 10 minutes to view the 75th HR Wallingford anniversary video and see the impact this cutting edge U.K. tech is making across Asia , the Middle East and closer to home: Celebrating 75 years | HR Wallingford
