His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner - What does that mean?

His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

A great and empowering title. A diverse and exciting region.

But what does it actually mean? What exactly does His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) do? What am I and my team doing in Eastern Europe and Central Asia?

If you have followed my page for a while now, you would have no doubt seen a steady stream of content focussed on business opportunities and investment.

In the most simplistic form, this is the role of a Trade Commissioner.

HMTCs work closely with the wider diplomatic network to promote UK trade and prosperity. Helping UK businesses succeed on the international stage, and attracting investment back into the UK.

But what does this actually look like in practice?

Supporting UK businesses

There are a near endless amount of opportunities for UK businesses overseas. With a growing international demand for innovative goods and services, there has never been a better time to start exporting.

HMTCs and our teams work in markets across the world to help UK businesses seize those opportunities and make a success of exporting.

Why do we want more exporters?

Exporting businesses are more innovative, pay higher wages and are more profitable. To put it bluntly: the more we export, the stronger the UK economy will become.

But it is not just the UK that benefits from this. Greater trade links can improve efficiency, promote innovation and strengthen our bilateral relationships - benefiting all countries involved.

My team are based across Eastern Europe and Central Asia and support UK businesses by providing advice and guidance, making connections with local buyers and providing insight into the local market.

Two great examples of this work are:

Azerbaijan

BVG Associates were supported by officials from the Department for Business and Trade to secure a project to produce a roadmap to establish offshore wind for the Government of Azerbaijan. Projects like this showcase just how valuable UK expertise is and how we can export that knowledge. Joel John Derbyshire Eden Clayton Neil Douglas

Kazakhstan

De Montfort University launched the first ever international university campus in the country in 2021 and it has been so successful they are now considering a second site. Department for Business and Trade officials supported this expansion by providing up-to-date intelligence about the market and wider support. Ian Thomas Simon Bradbury De Montfort University (DMU) Kazakhstan Beth McKendrick Sarah Chidgey

The access to UK expertise is helping both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan progress with their own domestic agendas. Supporting local jobs and generating local economic growth at the same time.

More trade = more benefits for all involved.

Removing barriers

Any exporter can encounter obstacles that slow down, limits or prevents them selling abroad.

My team is full of specialists who work with colleagues in the UK to reduce or remove these barriers. They do this by engaging governments around the world to find and resolve the issues.

This can help to increase trade and secure additional deals for UK businesses. Since the 6th September 2022 the whole international network has helped to identify and remove barriers to global markets worth more than ￡2.2bn over the next five years.

But to give you a more specific example: Last year saw the successful negotiation of a new agricultural Export Health Certificate between the UK and Kazakhstan. This new certificate enabled the first ever export of livestock genetics to Kazakhstan’s agriculture sector, supporting local jobs in the UK and in Kazakhstan.?Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society,?The British-Kazakh Society

Making trade easier through examples like this benefits everyone involved. Thanks to this agreement, agricultural producers in Kazakhstan now have access to a world class product, helping their businesses continue to evolve and expand.

If you are a UK business and you think you’re facing a new trade barrier, we might be able to help resolve it. You can report it:

https://www.great.gov.uk/report-trade-barrier/

Investment

Investment creates high quality jobs in the UK and grows our economy.

My team, based out of Istanbul, works to identify and introduce international investors into the UK.?Providing bespoke support to international entrepreneurs considering setting up, or expanding into the UK.

Want a few examples?

In 2021, Turkish grocery company?Getir?expanded into Europe, via the UK, creating thousands of jobs and it is now the biggest rapid grocery delivery company in Europe. You can watch a video on their expansion:

ENBIOSIS Biotechnology an innovative Digital Health business from Turkey recently completed a Development Programme across the UK’s thriving tech clusters in London, the northeast of England, the Midlands and Scotland. The UK tech sector is worth >$1tn and investment from companies such as this help to create high quality jobs. ?mer ?ZKAN Zeynep Atay Oztekbas

But investment does not just benefit the UK.

By setting up in the UK and expanding here, international businesses benefit from our world class educational ecosystem – enabling greater innovation across their business.

What is next?

This post is just to provide a flavour of the work undertaken by HMTCs and our teams. Over the coming weeks look out for more detailed articles on the work my teams are doing across Eastern Europe and Central Asia to support UK businesses and further promote our trading relationships.

If you have read this and you want to learn more about the business opportunities for your business, get in touch today: ???[email protected]

Are there other HMTCs?

YES!

The UK has nine HMTCs across the globe, with each of us taking responsibility for a different geographic area. You can follow them (down arrow)

Europe – Chris Barton CMG

North America – Emma Wade-Smith OBE

Latin America and Caribbean – Jonathan Knott CMG

Africa – John Humphrey

Middle East and Pakistan – Simon Penney CMG

South Asia – Alan Gemmell OBE

China – John Edwards

Asia Pacific – Natalie Black CBE