International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox MP, today (25 July 2018) announces that Swansea University will host the Board of Trade in November 2018.

Over 2 days (14 and 15 November), Board of Trade members will meet with local businesses and the International Trade Secretary will celebrate Welsh trade achievements by recognising local companies with Board of Trade Awards (BOFTAs). The National Trade Academy Programme will also run a Welsh business showcase.

Latest HMRC figures show goods exports from Wales increased by 7.1% to £16.4 billion in the year to March 2018, demonstrating the global demand for Welsh products.

With Wales being home to nearly 4,000 exporters in 2017, with an average value per exporter of more than £4.2 million, the Department for International Trade (DIT) is running a series of exporting masterclasses and seminars this week at the Royal Welsh Show in Llanelwedd. This will help more businesses take practical steps towards selling overseas.

The seminars will provide information on the benefits of exporting, dealing with potential barriers, developing a successful export strategy, finding the right route to market, and securing the best customers, agents and distributors.

International Trade Secretary and President of the Board of Trade Dr Liam Fox MP said:

As an international economic department, DIT is committed to helping Welsh businesses boost exports, find new markets and showcase their international reputation for excellence, from food and drink to agriculture and automotive.

There is a world of opportunity out there for UK businesses. Initiatives from the Board of Trade to the Royal Welsh Show will help identify and unlock new export markets, encourage inward investment and support the next wave of British exporters.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns MP confirmed that the Board of Trade will be held at Swansea University in the autumn:

The UK Government wants to celebrate the achievements of businesses that are demonstrating exceptional innovation, delivering prosperity to their local communities, and championing free trade. The Board of Trade allows us to do just that and I am thrilled that the Board will be coming to Wales in November.

The significant increase in Welsh exports shows our home-grown companies are succeeding on the world stage and I encourage businesses to get down to the Royal Welsh Show to attend one of the DIT exporting masterclasses to build on this success.

Background

The Department for International Trade (DIT) secures UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment, and championing free trade. We are an international economic department, responsible for:

• Bringing together policy, promotion and financial expertise to break down barriers to trade and investment, and help businesses succeed
• Delivering a new trade policy framework for the UK as we leave the EU
• Promoting British trade and investment across the world
• Building the global appetite for British goods and services

About the National Trade Academy Programme

The National Trade Academy Programme offers a range of initiatives that seek to engender a culture of exporting and ensure that we are constantly striving to become a nation of confident exporters and international trade experts with a solid understanding of the importance of international trade and investment.

In order to achieve this we need to ensure that we continually identify ways to furnish businesses and individuals with the skills and knowledge they require to become proficient exporters, and that there are worthwhile development opportunities available.

The Board of Trade National Trade Academy Programme will offer a variety of upskilling and thought leadership opportunities for students, businesses and academics. It will build international trade and investment related skills and knowledge across the UK and help foster a culture of exporting through a broad range of initiatives. It will include training and events such as an International Trade Summer School to help students and entrepreneurs turn their ideas and ambitions into Britain’s global exports. The initiatives will be run by the Department for International Trade as well as partners organisations.

About the Board of Trade Awards

The Department for International Trade (DIT) works with thousands of businesses. We want to celebrate those which are showing exceptional innovation, delivering prosperity to their local communities, and championing free trade.

Our staff care passionately about the businesses they support. The Board of Trade Awards allow us to recognise businesses that we believe deserve special recognition for their role within their communities.

We also want to showcase successes in trade and investment across the whole of the UK, from all sectors, and amongst businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Board of Trade Awards will be given out on an annual basis at Board of Trade meetings as it travels round the UK, during domestic visits and missions, and at an annual business reception. Award recipients are nominated and selected by Civil Servants from the Department for International Trade – we want to ensure that all businesses, not only businesses that have the resources to submit applications for awards, can be recognised.

For further information

The UK has today (Wednesday 25 July) committed to increase its support to help people in grassroots organisations keep HIV on the agenda in countries around the world.

International Development Minister Alistair Burt made the announcement at the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, also attended by HRH Duke of Sussex and Sir Elton John.

He pledged that DFID will step up its support for the Robert Carr Fund – an organisation dedicated to supporting community networks across the world which help people with HIV to realise their human rights, tackle stigma, and advocate for policy change.

International Development Minister Alistair Burt said:

People affected by HIV should be able to live without fear of stigma and discrimination. That’s why it’s important that through UK aid we continue to support vulnerable people to access the HIV prevention and treatment services that they have a right to.

The UK is already the second largest funder of HIV prevention, treatment and care in the world. UK aid is preventing people from being infected, providing lifesaving support for those living with HIV, improving access to medicines and leading innovative research.

The work of the Robert Carr Fund and civil society networks mean that people with HIV get access to the health services that they need and live without fear of stigma and discrimination.

The investment from DFID will support the following groups who are most vulnerable to HIV infection – men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, prisoners, sex workers and transgender people, among others – in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

Projects and campaigns supported by the Fund include:

• The ‘Gay Star News Digital Pride’ project empowers LGBT voices across the Middle East and North Africa to celebrate Pride online in a safe environment.

• AMSHeR supported workshops to campaign for human rights when people with HIV were arrested in Tanzania. This group also developed an African Key Populations Scorecard; this is an index to hold governments to account for their performance, against global guidance, for people living with HIV.

Notes to Editors

• The UK government is the second largest donor to the global AIDS response and to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

• This £6million announcement brings the DFID’s support to the Robert Carr fund to £15million up to 2021. In 2016 globally 19.5 million of the 36.7 million people living with HIV had access to treatment – up from 5.2 million people on treatment in 2010.

• Around 76% of pregnant women living with HIV have access to antiretroviral medicines up from 47% in 2010.

• New HIV infections among children have halved.

There is more to do:

• In 2016 AIDS killed over 1 million people.

• AIDS remains the biggest killer of women of reproductive age (15-49) worldwide.

• Although more people are on treatment, we are not having the same success in bringing new infection rates down.

• Globally, in 2016 nearly 2m adults per year were infected with HIV, with no statistically significant drop in new infections in adults since 2008.

UK spend on HIV:

• DFID is the second largest international funder of the HIV response behind the US, spending £1.56 billion.

• Our investments are through multilateral organisations such as the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, UNAIDS and Unitaid given their greater reach and scale. These are key players in the global response on HIV. The UK sits on the boards of all three organisations.

Nearly £12 million of new funding for Bombardier, has been announced by the Chancellor during a visit to Northern Ireland today (25 July 2018) to help the company secure long-term manufacturing jobs in Belfast. The project will be part-funded by local partners Invest Northern Ireland. The funding will support the company to develop the thrust reverser for the new Airbus A320 NEO nacelle – essential components for modern airplanes.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:

We are backing Bombardier with £12 million of new money to help develop cutting edge technology – here in Northern Ireland – for modern aircraft. This will help to secure jobs for Northern Ireland’s economy and cement the UK’s role as a leading manufacturer of high tech aircraft components.

Northern Ireland is leading the way within the UK in productivity growth. I want to support this progress by inviting a bid for a Derry-Londonderry City Deal, an opportunity for the region to continue to drive forward economic growth and build an economy that works for everyone.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley said:

I am delighted with today’s announcement, which is a positive step in progressing a City Deal for Derry-Londonderry. It is a testament to the many local partners who have worked tirelessly for progress to be made.

As Northern Ireland’s second largest centre for economic growth, Derry-Londonderry plays a significant role in the region’s economic success.

I look forward to now engaging with local partners and across Government as proposals are developed and we build on the existing strengths of this area to deliver a real impact on the economy in the North West and across Northern Ireland.

Vice-Chancellor of Ulster University, Professor Paddy Nixon said:

I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement today that the UK government is inviting local partners to submit proposals for a Derry–Londonderry City Deal. I look forward to working with the local council and others to bring forward ambitious proposals for the government to consider.

Today the Chancellor has also invited a city deal bid for the Derry-Londonderry City Region. This will give local councils, universities and businesses the chance to submit plans to government on their priorities for driving forward economic growth and boosting productivity for the benefit of the Derry-Londonderry city region and the whole of Northern Ireland.

On his visit the Chancellor will tour Bombardier’s production line for aircraft wings and welcome the new orders for 60 A220 announced last week at the Farnborough Airshow. Aerospace is a key manufacturing sector for the UK, and Northern Ireland, and it will be a vital part of the Industrial Strategy Sector Deal. While in Belfast, the Chancellor will also meet with the government’s FinTech envoy in Northern Ireland, Georgina O’Leary, and major industry leaders in financial services. He will also discuss how the Brexit White Paper will benefit Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland has seen a 14.2% increase in productivity since 2010 – the fastest of all regions and nations of the UK. The potential for further growth is being supported by investment in Ulster University, which has benefitted from £50 million of UK government funding since 2015 for cutting edge research and development. The UK government is also delivering the biggest increase in research and development investment for 40 years.

Further information

• The government is investing over £1.6 billion in city deals in Scotland and Wales and is in negotiations for a Belfast City Region Deal – the first city deal in Northern Ireland.

The government funded ‘Ringing Remembers’ project aims to recruit 1,400 new bell ringers to take part in Armistice Day 2018 commemorations as the First World War Centenary programme reaches a seminal moment. The campaign is being run by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in collaboration with Big Ideas and the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers.

One thousand new bell ringers have already been recruited to ring out following the traditional march past the Cenotaph and to honour the 1,400 bell ringers who lost their lives in the First World War.

Meeting new recruits to the project in the north-east, Lord Bourne officially launched the new Ringing Remembers badge, which will provide bell ringers with a lasting reminder of their contribution to Armistice Day 2018.

Faith Minister Lord Bourne said:

The bell ringing community tragically saw 1,400 members lose their lives to the war effort. Their sacrifice will be honoured by our Ringing Remembers project, which will recruit the same number of bell ringers to take part in the centenary Armistice Day celebrations.

One hundred years ago bell ringers across the country caught and amplified the national mood as 4 years of war came to an end.

In remembrance of that special moment, and of the sacrifice bell ringers made during the First World War, I urge people across the nation to sign up to ‘Ringing Remembers’ and take part in Armistice Day 2018 as we honour those that gave so much to defend our freedom and liberty one hundred years ago.

Lord Bourne’s call to action comes after the UK government, supported by the German government, invited nations across the world to participate in international bell ringing on 11 November 2018. This will mirror the moment 100 years ago when relief and emotion overtook and bells rang out across the country to celebrate Armistice.