The UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) strategy and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) seven-point charter are designed to demonstrate the government’s dedication to supporting international business, championing UK business overseas and attracting investors to the country.
The strategy will see UKTI adopt a more entrepreneurial approach to deliver growth. As part of this UKTI will actively seek out overseas investors, help UK companies expand into overseas markets and work more closely with key British companies.
Examples of the approach include establishing a new private sector delivery partner with the incentive to attract and retain high value investments. There will also be an expansion of the Global Entrepreneur Programme to win more investment to the UK.
"We're rightly proud of British firms and making sure they can increase their exports to a worldwide audience is vital if we are to rebuild our economy,” said business secretary Vince Cable. “We also know the UK already has a great reputation as a place to do business and we want to do all we can to make sure foreign investors come here.
"Today, we're announcing practical help for UK companies to ensure they win business overseas. And we're setting out how we will actively attract inward investment to the UK with ambitious plans to target sovereign wealth funds and expand the global entrepreneur programme."
The UKTI strategy signals how the Department intends to become more entrepreneurial in focus by bringing more private sector expertise into its relationship with exporters and inward investors. New partnerships will be developed with key businesses that support SMEs and networks will be used to raise awareness of the benefits of exporting. There will be a new online self-help community for UK SME exporters, so that they can support each other and share experience as they seek to internationalise their businesses. This new development will also provide a continuous feedback loop so that customers can tell us what they think of UKTI.
The UKTI strategy and FCO charter are available online at www.ukti.gov.uk/uktistrategy
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