UKTI overseas expansion

23 July 2012

UKTI is to establish a presence in 14 new markets, covering Africa, Central and South East Asia, Oceania and South America.
This follows a review highlighting growing interests from UK firms in markets with significant business opportunities in the oil and gas, mining, and infrastructure sectors.
A two-year pilot will see UKTI appoint dedicated trade officers in Cambodia, Guyana, Mongolia, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and Turkmenistan. The staff will be locally employed and recruitment is now underway.
In Africa, UKTI will work closely with the FCO to deliver its Prosperity programme and UKTI services. Through this collaboration UKTI will be able to offer business support services in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Zambia.
UKTI sent a senior member of its Strategic Trade team to Burma in mid-May. That official has been tasked with supporting those UK businesses already looking at the country, including those taking part in an upcoming trade mission involving Business Ambassadors Chairman Lord Marland and UKTI CEO Nick Baird.
The official is also assessing what permanent resource UKTI will need to ensure that UK business can succeed in Burma. Once the new appointments have been made, UKTI will have a presence in 111 markets.