Dear Members and Friends,
Education World Forum (EWF) is always an exceptionally busy time for BEI. This year’s Forum has probably been the busiest yet, working with an increasingly broad group of members and stakeholders in education from early years to tertiary education and lifelong learning. At our events around EWF we have welcomed Ministers and senior officials from across Africa, Central and South-East Asia and helped connect our members with many more delegations at the Forum itself.
Early on Monday morning we kicked off an exciting week with a breakfast roundtable in partnership with British Council and the Department of Business and Trade (DBT), where we were joined by Education ministers from across Sub-Saharan and North Africa. On Monday afternoon our focus shifted to Cambodia, when we hosted a delegation led by HE Dr Romny Om, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and HE Mr Vibol La, Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training.
On Tuesday our attention remained in South-East Asia. We hosted a delegation from Malaysia, headed by Datuk Dr Anesee Ibrahim, Secretary-General at the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia. On Tuesday afternoon we turned our focus to Central Asia, hosting H.E. Sayasat Nurbek, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Science and Higher Education for the second time this year. We were particularly pleased to host the signing of a MoU between our member The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding is an outcome of BEI’s Higher Education Trade Mission to Astana and Almaty led by Luisa in March. Congratulations to all involved in making such rapid progress in just over two months!
On Tuesday evening along with DBT we also hosted a wider Central Asia reception in, led by Rt Hon Lord Alderdice, the UK’s Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan and Central Asia. The reception brought together Ministries of Education and Higher Education, along with key stakeholders from across Central Asia, Azerbaijan and Mongolia. We’re very appreciative of the close collaboration of the London Embassies of the partner countries, and honoured to have been able to welcome their Ambassadors to the event. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the Embassies to build on the connections made this week and to explore the scope for further collaboration.
On Wednesday morning, our attention shifted again to East Africa and Mauritius, in the form of an education roundtable with a delegation led by Hon. Dr K.S. Sukon, Minister of Tertiary Education Science and Research. At lunch time, we returned to South-East Asia with a roundtable with the South-East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat. We were joined by Datuk Dr. Habibah Abdul Rahim, Director at SEAMEO Secretariat. Congratulations to Luisa, Amalie and the whole team for an impressive calendar of events, and warm thanks to our members, DBT colleagues, Embassy partners and official guests for their committed participation.
In other news, we also hosted two events this week at 23 Grafton Street reflecting other parts of the BEI agenda. On Monday, we were delighted to welcome a delegation from Zanzibar. The delegation was headed by the Director of Zanzibar’s Investment Promotion Authority (or ZIPA), Saleh Saad Mohammed. ZIPA is a semi-autonomous government agency dedicated to promoting investment, and we heard detail about specific opportunities as well as the comprehensive support available to foreign and domestic investors in Zanzibar. It was also an honour to HE Mbelwa Kairuki, High Commissioner for Tanzania in the UK, as well as our friends from the UK Department for Business and Trade.
On Thursday, we hosted our latest Climate Change Networking Evening, this time welcoming Mark Harvey, Founder and CEO of Resurgence, a global social enterprise that supports urban climate risk reduction and resilience. Mark’s keynote was followed by a special preview screening of the first episode of AZEEMA: UNDAUNTED, a new documentary series that follows five displaced Sudanese weather forecasters and community leaders as they race against time to create a life-saving early warning system for 50 million people in Sudan. Alongside Mark, we were delighted to be joined by Esraa Elgadi, a project manager for the DARAJA Sudan project and one of the Sudanese protagonists in the AZEEMA film.
Following this week’s round-the-world tour, it’s inevitable that next week’s programme is slightly lighter. Nevertheless, we have a very interesting virtual deep-dive on Infrastructure Opportunities in Kazakhstan on Thursday 29th May from 10:00 – 11:30am (BST). As the ninth-largest country in the world, Kazakhstan boasts a vast and diverse landscape requiring extensive infrastructure development, including energy, transport, water, and digital systems. Speakers from DBT Kazakhstan, UKEF and the AIFC will discuss Kazakhstan's strategic infrastructure priorities and provide their perspectives on financing options and practical tools designed to assist UK businesses.
Finally, closer to home, this week also saw the first meeting of our newly-established Strategy International Advisory Board, chaired by former Cabinet Secretary and National Security Adviser Lord Sedwill. We are looking forward to benefitting from the insight and guidance of very experienced practitioners in the diverse range of sectors of interest to BEI as well as our sister organisations the British Foreign Policy Group and the D Group, as we aim to maximise the impact of each organisation as well as the intersections between them. You can see the details of the members of the Advisory Board, here.
As we approach the Bank Holiday, warm wishes for the weekend ahead,
David Landsman
Executive Chairman
British Expertise International
Recordings of recent past events:
Key events coming up include the following:
- 29th May 2025 10:00 – 11:30 BST: Deep-Dive on Infrastructure Opportunities in Kazakhstan - As the ninth-largest country in the world, Kazakhstan boasts a vast and diverse landscape requiring extensive infrastructure development, including energy, transport, water, and digital systems. Speakers from DBT Kazakhstan, UKEF and the AIFC will discuss Kazakhstan's strategic infrastructure priorities and provide their perspectives on financing options and practical tools designed to assist UK businesses.
- 5th June 2025 10:30 – 11:30 BST: Intersection of Climate Change and Social Security - Join us online for a webinar on the “Intersection of Climate Change and Social Security”. Our speakers from Development Pathways and Cowater International will examine the critical role of social security systems in addressing climate change vulnerabilities.
- 10th June 2025 09:00 – 10:30 BST: Public-Private Partnerships in the Philippines - The PPP Center, Philippines will provide an overview of the new Public-Private Partnership (PPP) legal framework, bring essential insights on best practice in engaging on PPP projects in the Philippines, and showcase some of the specific opportunities that would be a good fit for UK organisations.
- 10th June 2025 15:00 – 16:30 BST: International Finance Corporation (IFC): Working Upstream - This virtual session will provide a deep dive on IFC Upstream, and illustrate Upstream in action through examples from Agribusiness and Education sectors. Through early-stage project development, financial structuring, and de-risking mechanisms, these services transform high-potential concepts into bankable opportunities that can attract private capital.
- 11th June 2025 16:00 – 19:00 BST: Climate Change Networking Evening - Join us for an evening of thought-provoking conversation, potential new partnerships and the chance to meet with members of our Climate Change Working Group. Our keynote speaker this time is Virginie Fayolle, Head of Climate at Mott MacDonald International Development Services.
- 17th June 2025 16:00 – 19:00 BST: Best Practice Approaches to Sector and Place Based Skills - Join us at 23 Grafton Street for a ‘Best Practice Review’ of the approach taken in the Nuclear Industry to build a truly collaborative approach across Government, Industry, Academia, Education and Commerce to address the long term need for Nuclear Industry- specific skills and the place based skills requirements for specific towns (like Barrow and Plymouth) with high density of specific skills requirement.
- 26th June 2025 10:00 – 11:30 BST: Achieving Systems Change for Disaster Risk Management and Climate Adaptation - This roundtable will explore the complexities of Disaster Risk Management, with a particular focus on Early Warning Systems and locally-led solutions to resilience, and discuss strategies for overcoming these challenges.
External Events and Reports:
- 2nd - 6th June 2025: Asia Clean Energy Forum 2025 at ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines. This is one of ADB’s signature events where clean energy practitioners from across the world convene to share insights and experience in the design and implementation of concrete actions that accelerate the financing of clean and efficient energy solutions. For more details on how the 2024 ACEF transpired, you may refer to this link: Home ACEF 2024 - Asia Clean Energy Forum
- 12th & 13th June 2025: International Law Summits: Energy Arbitration & Dispute Resolution in the Middle East and Africa - International Law Summits is hosting the 8th Annual Conference on Energy Arbitration and Dispute Resolution in the Middle East and Africa on 12-13 June. There’s a 10% discount with the code EARLYBIRD2025. Register here.
- 19th - 21st June 2025: Central Asian Expo (CAEx), Tashkent, Uzbekistan - Eco Expo Central Asia will be the region’s largest international platform for dialogue and collaboration on environmental protection and sustainable development. The event will bring together leading experts, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, and innovators from around the world. Key exhibition sections will include: Green energy, Clean-tech and smart environmental solutions, Water-saving technologies, Green transport, Sustainable agriculture, Environmental education, Green finance, Green construction, Eco-tourism, AI and ecology, FMCG sustainability initiatives, Aral Sea and Priaral region ecology, Urban greening and landscaping, Protected natural areas. Further details are available, here.
- 25th - 26th August 2025: World Women Entrepreneurs Forum (WWEF), Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - The World Women Entrepreneurs Forum (WWEF) emerges in response to this urgent need—to not only celebrate the progress made, but to challenge the systems that limit it. Held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, under the theme Inspire, Impact, Invest, the Forum will serve as a global platform to uplift women entrepreneurs by fostering connection, capacity, and capital. It will bring together leaders, changemakers, investors, and advocates to co-create an ecosystem where womenled businesses thrive and transform economies.
- 3rd - 5th September 2025, KazBuild 2025, Kazakhstan: Stand booking is now open for international exhibitors at KazBuild exhibition in Kazakhstan - the largest international building and interiors exhibition in Kazakhstan, annually welcoming over 7,000 specialist trade visitors to the show. KazBuild will be held 3-5 September 2025 in Almaty, the biggest city of Kazakhstan. Held since 1994, the exhibition showcases the latest products, services, technologies, and projects available on the market, and provides a key platform for governmental and building industry professionals to exchange experiences, establish cooperation and share the latest industry developments. Please contact Mrs. Tatyana Borodikhina by email: tatyana.borodikhina@exhibitions-conferences.com to learn more about how KazBuild can help to establish your business in Kazakhstan.
Register for an upcoming event →
Not a member?
Learn more
For more information about British Expertise International: Sign up to receive this Weekly Update
- View our upcoming events
- Becoming a member
- Follow us on Twitter
- Join our Linkedin group
.jpg)
