City Matters: Expanding trade links with international markets is top of the agenda
The City can feel empty at this time of the year, with many Londoners heading off on holiday. But as lord mayor, August is the one month that I’m not travelling to business centres around the world. As an ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services community, every lord mayor spends around 100 days a year visiting 20 to 30 different countries. A clear priority is to champion our important export industry, helping to facilitate increased trade.
Historically, Britain has had a strong, export-led economy, particularly with its links to the Commonwealth and EU. In recent years, however, we have sometimes failed to capitalise on the opportunities to extend and expand our exports to new markets. To safeguard our economic prospects for the long term, we must do better. We must make the most of our exporting opportunities in every market.
When talking about exports, people’s minds often leap to manufactured goods like clothing and cars, but there is much more to the UK’s export industry. Conveying this message and pitching our uniquely broad and sophisticated range of wares, underpinned by centuries of expertise, is central to my mayoralty and its theme: “The Energy to Transform Lives”. In the UK’s export industry, we can see the full weight and power of that transformative energy. The UK is a hotbed of talent, ranging from master planning and engineering to infrastructure financing, as well as the high-tech and creative industries.
Skills are at the heart of our exports, and are in great demand from cities around the world who look to London to support their development and growth. Earlier in my career, I “exported” myself to Bahrain, and have since worked in over 40 countries, giving advice on infrastructure and energy development. It was a win-win scenario – enabling me to throw myself into challenges I might never have known existed back in London, and allowing local teams to benefit from diverse skills and expertise.
As lord mayor, I’m drawing on my experience to try and bring the UK ever closer to our partners overseas. By improving communications, exporting skills and increasing bilateral trade, we can support other global cities, while expanding the horizons of own professionals. We want to foster a symbiotic sharing of skills, bringing benefits to individuals, their employers and the wider community – in the UK and overseas.
This is core business for Canada. Developing and expanding physical and financial infrastructure for overseas business hubs benefits not just them, but us too. Many international banks choose to locate in the City and UK in order to be part of our world-leading financial centre.
I’ve often said that the world of finance is like a cake – growth doesn’t leave us with a smaller slice, but instead helps bake a bigger cake for everyone. As the BBC’s Great British Bake Off hits our screens once again, and I begin preparing for my next trip, I am mindful of the importance of the UK’s export industry in welcoming many more people around the table to enjoy a delicious slice.