Dear Members and Friends,
Enough has been written about the Royal events, and by far more eloquent commentators than me. I can only say that, as I am sure you would all agree, I can do no more than stand back and admire the wonder, warmth, respect and loyalty that ran through those extraordinary eleven days between The Queen’s death and her being laid to rest. A nation at its best. We all join in wishing the best to The King. If I may also embarrass BEI’s Honorary President, HRH The Duke of Gloucester by mentioning his contribution and resolve. If I show the sort of stamina at 78 to be able to walk in step for mile after mile, I’d be very happy. We should also thank not only the Armed Forces and Police but the many civil servants BEI deals with who were transferred over to assist with the proceedings and care for the visiting heads of state.
With politics now resuming, all eyes turn to the completion of ministerial appointments and greater clarity around the new administration’s priorities, particularly around Trade and Foreign Policy across all our membership’s sector interests. We will be engaging with new appointees in all key departments including DIT, FCDO, Cabinet Office, Education and HM Treasury. More of this in the coming weeks. You might also be interested to see two of a series of overviews being prepared by our sister organisation, the British Foreign Policy Group on what we can expect from the Truss Administration. The first two focus on Security and Russia/China.
The past week’s events are listed at the bottom of the page, with their links if you want to listen to those that were recorded. Looking forward over the next two weeks, these are the scheduled events and for which parts of the membership we feel there should be interest.
26th September: Kenya Market Opportunity Overview
In person event and reception at 23 Grafton Street 16:00–19:00 BST. An opportunity for all members currently active or wanting to do business in Kenya to meet with Alexander Milne, the DIT’s Trade Director for Kenya.
28th September: The Aga Khan Foundation
In Person Event at 23 Grafton Street 10:00–11:30 BST. Designed to provide an opportunity for members focused on International Development to engage directly with the Aga Khan Foundation and hear about their broad range of work.
28th September: The Aid Transparency Index 2022
Virtual Event 14:00–15:30 BST. This event will review the findings from the most recent Aid Transparency Report and offer some perspectives on future models that might be used to evaluate the impact of Aid related projects.
4th October: FCDO Development Director — Ghana
In person event providing members with the opportunity to meet with Beth Cadman OBE, the FCDO Director for Ghana to explore the strategy and potential pipeline of potential projects
5th October: Lunch with Sir Suma Chakrabarti
In person lunch event 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm (BST). Sir Suma will provide an overview of his thoughts on the future of development aid in the wake of growing needs and constrained budgets, where effective use of technology and an increasing focus on partnerships are likely to play a key role.
6th October: Market Opportunity Overview — Iran
A virtual event in partnership with the DIT and the British Iranian Chamber of Commerce. This session will clarify the current operating environment for businesses trading with or wishing to expand into Iran — including a definitive guide to the current situation on sanctions and payment.
6th October: The Energy Transition: In Conversation with Carbon Tracker
Virtual Event 14:00pm to 16:00pm (BST). Carbon Tracker is an independent financial think tank that carries out in-depth analysis on the impact of the energy transition on capital markets. Using their team of global financial market, energy and legal experts, they apply research and map risk and opportunity for investors interested in a low-carbon future. This event will be relevant to all members involved in the critical area of Energy Transition.
7th October: Working Together: Finding solutions to the youth mental health crisis at work
Virtual Event 13.00–13.45 BST. Our sister organisation, OurVoice, led by Evie Aspinall, will be running this session designed to appeal to younger employees, providing a platform for them to air suggestions and approaches on mental health that they would like to see adopted in their places of work.
May I wish you all a relaxing weekend and we look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible in the coming weeks.
Best Wishes
Peter O’Kane
Chairman
British Expertise International/Strategy International
Summary of recent events completed
20th September: Opportunities in Climate Resilience and Adaptation Recording available via the link from 26th September.
21st September: ADB Virtual Business Opportunity Seminar 2
Covering Urban Development, Climate Resilience, Transport, PPP. Recording and slides available via the link.
22nd September: FCDO Bangladesh: Development Priorities
No recording available; slides available via the link.
Calendar of confirmed events
Beyond The Next Fortnight
11th October: FCDO Indonesia: Development Priorities
Virtual Event 9:00 am to 10:30 am. Join us as we host Amanda McLoughlin, the Development Director in Indonesia for the FCDO who will present the Government’s development priorities and programming for Indonesia. This follows on from the recently published International Development Strategy, which sets the direction for all of the UK government’s development work and aims to draw on expertise from the private sector, civil society and academia to advise and challenge on implementation.
13th October: Malaysia : Market Opportunity Overview
Hybrid Event (In-person briefing) at 23 Grafton Street. 8:30am to 10:30am (GMT). His Excellency Charles Hay MVO and his team who will be discussing opportunities in Malaysia for UK businesses. They will highlight specific opportunities in Infrastructure and Climate, Education, Healthcare and Digital Services in what is the UK’s second largest export market in the ASEAN region after Singapore.
17th October: DOING BUSINESS WITH THE EBRD
In-person roundtable event at 23 Grafton Street. 2:00pm to 4:30pm (GMT). We will hear about the European Bank For Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Strategy, guidance on its Procurement Processes and how to navigate them. In addition, there will be a briefing on the EBRD’s Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility and a review of the infrastructure projects it is involved in.
18th October: Mexico Education Deep Dive with DIT
Virtual event 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm (GMT). Julio Evaristo, Head of Education, Healthcare and Life Sciences, and Cassandra Vargas, Trade Officer for Education, Health and Life Sciences will provide us with an insight into the key education priorities and an overview of their pipeline. A deep dive into the education opportunities in Mexico led by the Department for International Trade.
20th October: Thailand Education Deep Dive with DIT
Virtual event 9:00am to 10:30am (GMT). The quality of education Thailand still remains a weak point for the country’s human development. Further, COVID-19 has played a huge role in staggering progress and achievements in providing quality and accessible education for children, with many in rural and low-income households struggling to access the appropriate digital learning devices to ensure their children can resume online schooling during the pandemic. Join us for a deep dive into the education opportunities in Thailand led by the Department for International Trade.
1st November: Meet Darren Henry MP, Trade Envoy to the Caribbean (12 Commonwealth countries)
Virtual event 3:00pm to 4:30pm (GMT). We are delighted to welcome Darren Henry MP, Trade Envoy to the Caribbean, for a members-only virtual roundtable. Darren will have recently returned from a trip to Jamaica and will be in a good position to raise awareness of business opportunities, including plans around major infrastructure projects. The Trade Envoy will share his insights and experiences, including key opportunities and potential G2G engagement plans which may be of interest. Members will be able engage with these opportunities and highlight their ambitions and challenges of doing business in Jamaica and the region.
External news & events
- 28th — 29th September: Field Electronics and Sensors Training
The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) one-day BEGINNER course will give participants an introduction to electronics as applied to environmental sensors in the field. The one-day ADVANCED course will build on the Beginners course and Learners will gain advanced knowledge on data logging systems, sensors, communication protocols and remote data downloading. Find more details here.
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