Global business leaders and industry heavyweights will join the Prime Minister – who will be making an address – at the UK’s Global Investment Summit later this month, the Department for International Trade has announced.
Speakers at the Summit include Said Professor of Vaccinology at Oxford University, Sarah Gilbert, and GlaxoSmithKline CEO Dame Emma Walmsley, who will discuss the UK’s leading role in life sciences including the successful vaccine roll-out.
Levelling up and attracting greener and more sustainable investment will also be on the agenda, which will see the Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, NatWest Group plc CEO Alison Rose, Metro Mayors and Macquarie Group CEO Shemara Wikramanayake taking part in discussions about the opportunities for greener investment up and down the country. The UK’s expertise in generating tech unicorns will also be discussed in a conversation with Poppy Gustafsson, CEO of Darktrace plc.
Director-General World Trade Organisation Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan will address trade and investment’s role in shaping a more sustainable future for all, while Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will also address delegates to close the summit.
The Summit will bring together investors from priority markets all around the world, with some 87% of attendees hailing from outside the UK, including 32% from the US and 11% from CPTPP nations.
Accenture, the global professional services company that specialises in strategy, consulting and technology services, has also been announced as the latest sponsor for the summit. The firm has pledged to create both financial value and sustainable impact through technology, with a goal to deliver net-zero by 2025, a 1.5 degree science-based-target and 100% renewable electricity by 2023.
Ahead of the Summit, International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:
We welcome our latest sponsor Accenture, and our speakers who represent the innovation, agility and forward-thinking that sets the UK business community apart, making us the best place to start and grow a business.
These titans of enterprise showcase how the UK is using investment to cement itself as a science and tech superpower, and a pioneer of green technology ahead of COP26.
Dambisa Moyo, Global Economist, co-principal Versaca Investments, will be master of ceremonies for the summit and highlighted the role of the summit in driving investment into the UK:
Investment – particularly, smart investment in climate action – will, no doubt, play a critical role in supporting economic growth, enhancing living standards, and driving human progress around the world.
As the world economy emerges from the ravages of the global pandemic, the Global Investment Summit in London brings together many of the world’s most important CEOs, business leaders, and investors with the explicit goal to find and fund climate action.
I am delighted to participate in this gathering, and these concerted efforts to deliver solutions to one of the greatest challenges our lifetime.
Peter Lacy, Accenture’s global Sustainability Services lead and chief responsibility officer, said:
Accenture is proud to partner with the UK Government on the Global Investment Summit and help shine a spotlight on the many exciting opportunities in the UK. With COP26 just weeks away, the UK is in a unique position to not just lead the global conversation, but also the action and innovation needed on climate change.
Time is rapidly running out to deliver on our collective climate change commitments, but it is not too late to deliver the 50% decarbonisation required by 2030, and net-zero by 2050. So it is critical that events such as this take place to drive investment that will allow business to do what it does best – which is to compete in a race to the top by innovating new markets, products, and services that deliver for shareholders and stakeholders.
The role of green finance will also be discussed with Group CEO of Aviva Amanda Blanc, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink, JP Morgan Chase & Co Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon and Barclays CEO Jes Staley all speaking at the event.
The Summit comes two weeks ahead of COP26 and will convene global business leaders – and crucial partners in achieving Net Zero globally – to look at green growth and highlight the significant inward investment opportunities in the UK in support of the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan.
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