Details

The British Embassy Zagreb is now inviting organizations to submit project proposals.

The focus will be on the following thematic areas.

Climate change

Supporting activities in Croatia in order to support ambitious action on tackling climate change, in support of COP26. Focus on renewable forms of energy, protecting biodiversity and combatting marine pollution.

Prosperity and trade, with a focus on “green recovery”

Supporting activities that foster solutions for green recovery post Covid-19, and raise public awareness for the green agenda, with a focus on innovative green-tech solutions and clean growth.

Promoting open societies

Supporting activities that promote shared values: open society, human rights, democracy, and post-conflict reconciliation.

Activity bid guidance

The British Embassy in Zagreb aims to support projects with activities taking place between 1 July 2021 and 28 February 2022, with no expectation of continued funding beyond the stated period.

Maximum activity budget limit: HRK 100,000.

Activity bids will be assessed against the following criteria:

• alignment with the above-mentioned thematic priorities
• outcomes that are achievable within the funding period
• activity design that includes clear evaluation procedures and measures of impact
• activity design that includes risk and financial accountability procedures
• the organization’s safeguarding policies ensure protection of beneficiaries, especially vulnerable individuals and children
• overall value for money

Bidding process

1. Proposals must be submitted using the relevant bidding form and activity based budget template provided below
2. All proposals must be received by midnight on 7 June 2021. Late proposals will not be considered
3. Proposals must be submitted to Monika.Suknaic@fcdo.gov.uk
4. Successful bidders will be notified by 15 June 2021

Transparency

The British Embassy in Zagreb will organise an online Q&A session about the bidding process on Tuesday 25 May 2021. More details will be shared via our social media pages in due course.

The British Embassy in Zagreb will not answer any direct questions on the bidding process, in order to avoid preferential treatment of applicants but interested parties are encouraged to raise any questions at the Q&A session.

Additional information and documentation

All project implementers will be expected to sign a standard contract or grant agreement with the Embassy provided by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). The terms of the contract or agreement are not negotiable.

All projects are expected to have achieved 85% spend by end December 2021. Proposed budgets must reflect this requirement.

In view of the current epidemiological situation all events/activities must adhere to Croatia’s National Civil Protection Directorate guidelines in force at the time the events/activities take place.

Contact: Monika.Suknaic@fcdo.gov.uk

The UK is to begin negotiations for upgraded trade deals with Canada and Mexico this year focused on creating even greater opportunities for UK businesses in industries of the future such as digital, data and services.

A call for input will ask for views from the public, businesses and other stakeholders on what the UK’s ambitions should be for these free trade agreements.

Building on the deals signed in 2020, which secured tariff-free exports on 98% and 88% of goods to Canada and Mexico respectively, this next generation of trade deals will be better tailored to the UK economy and provide the opportunity to set new benchmarks in areas like digital trade, climate and women’s economic empowerment.

Last year the UK exported goods and services worth over £2 billion to Mexico and over £11 billion to Canada. Overall trade with Canada and Mexico was worth £22.8bn and £5.1bn respectively in 2019.

A new trade deal with Mexico will support jobs and opportunities across the UK in industries like digital, data and services, while an improved UK-Canada trade agreement will support British jobs in areas such as car manufacturing and food and drink.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said:

Now we have left the EU we are free to sign the next generation of British-shaped trade deals with free-trading nations, securing our economic ties with economies of the future.

This next generation of deals will be trail-blazing, securing more access for British goods and services, which will support jobs and prosperity across the UK in industries that will shape the future of the global economy. They will also serve as a key building block to CPTPP, as the UK pivots towards the Asia-Pacific.

We want these deals to be pioneering in digital and services trade, and bolder in our commitments to the environment.

Lord Karan Bilimoria, CBI President, said:

As the UK seeks to strengthen its trade and investment links with Mexico and Canada, input from business will be crucial to ensure these deals serve as a vehicle for economic growth. Creating high-value jobs in key growth industries from fintech to e-commerce will help all our countries build forward.

Business will provide on the ground intelligence and expertise the Government needs to negotiate successfully, helping the UK realise it’s full trading potential.

In 2020 the UK, Canada and Mexico committed to exploring new deals that go much further than existing rollover agreements. The UK’s intention to strike these new deals signals our ambition to boost trade with the economies of the future.

Currently the 15th largest economy in the world and home to over 130 million consumers, in 2017 PwC forecast that the Mexican market could become the 7th largest economy in the world by 2050. The Mexican government procurement market is estimated by the OECD to be worth some $119.5 billion in 2017. A new trade deal provides an opportunity to open up more tenders to UK bidders, make it easier for UK firms to bid for Mexican government contracts at a Federal and State level.

Canada is currently the 9th largest economy worldwide, offering significant opportunities for UK businesses in industries including automotive manufacturing and food and drink.

Forging stronger trade links with Canada and Mexico will also support the UK’s ambition to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as they are both members. CPTPP is a group of economies around the Pacific with a collective GDP of almost £9 trillion in 2019, and joining will help open up a new horizon of opportunities for British businesses, particularly in services and digital and data provisions.

Negotiations are already under way with other CPTPP members New Zealand and Australia, and the UK agreed a deal with Japan last year.

The call for input will last for eight weeks, giving businesses, interest groups and members of the public the opportunity to highlight their priorities for these potential future agreements.

The responses will help inform the UK’s position as it prepares for detailed negotiations later this year.

Notes to editors:

• More information on the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement https://www.gov.uk/guidance/summary-of-the-uk-canada-trade-continuity-agreement and the UK-Mexico Trade Continuity Agreement https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukmexico-trade-continuity-agreement
• The call for input will run between 18 May and 12 July, and is available on gov.uk here
• The UK government will continue to engage sectors and stakeholders in ongoing discussions to gather views.
• Total UK exports to Mexico were £2.5 billion in 2019
• Total UK exports to Canada were £11.4bn in 2019
• Sources of statistics: ONS UK Trade, all countries, non-seasonally adjusted, Q3 2020 ; ONS UK Economic Outlook, Q4 2020; IMF World Economic Outlook: April 2021 ; Mexican Census 2021 ; OECD GDP long-term forecast; PwC “Our World in 2050” (published 2017); OECD Government at a Glance – 2019 edition for procurement totals in USD at PPP.

Date: 18 May 2021

The UK’s COP26 Universities Network and leading research centres in Singapore have announced a partnership to develop four reports that provide policy recommendations for climate action in the ASEAN region. This collaboration echoes COP26 President Designate Alok Sharma’s call to the global academic community to help deliver the strategic aims for COP26. Minister Sharma noted this in his opening address at the COP26 Universities Network’s Climate Exp0 on 17 May 2021.

The COP26 Universities Network is a growing group of more than 70 UK-based universities and research institutes working together to raise ambition for tangible outcomes at the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow and beyond. The collaboration – the first of its kind for the COP26 Universities Network – will bring together leading researchers in the UK and Singapore, as well as other international academic partners, to address opportunities and innovation challenges related to achieving a shift towards a lower carbon and sustainable economy in ASEAN countries.

The four reports are aimed at supporting policy development and the UK’s international COP26 objectives in Singapore and across Southeast Asia, focusing on the following areas:

• Adaptation and resilience: Led by University of Glasgow (UK) and the Earth Observatory of Singapore

• Energy transition: Led by Newcastle University (UK) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) Energy Studies Institute and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) – Yusof Ishak Institute

• Green finance: Led by Imperial College London (UK) and the Singapore Green Finance Centre

• Nature-based solutions: Led by the University of Nottingham (UK) and National University Singapore (NUS) Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions

The reports will be published ahead of COP26 – the UN Climate Change Conference that will be hosted by the UK, in partnership with Italy, in November 2021. As COP26 President, the UK is committed to working closely with like-minded partners across the world and though multilateral groupings such as the G7 to accelerate climate leadership in the form of more ambitious NDCs and long-term strategies, and real-world climate action.

H.E. Kara Owen, British High Commissioner to Singapore, said, “We all know we will get nowhere on climate change without the most effective international collaboration. This is at the heart of the UK’s COP Presidency. Our desire to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future is also driving our science and research partnerships. The SG-UK Partnership for the Future rests on our two countries tackling priority issues in a way that makes a broader difference. I am pleased to see researchers in Singapore join the growing family of COP26 Universities Network.”

H.E. Lim Thuan Kuan, Singaporean High Commissioner to the UK, said, “We are delighted that researchers in Singapore and the UK are teaming up to contribute to this important and groundbreaking project. The joint reports will not only enhance our science and innovation collaboration under the Singapore-UK Partnership for the Future, but also our understanding of the challenges and opportunities arising from climate science and policy-making in the ASEAN region as we seek to transition to a greener economy.”

Alyssa Gilbert, Chair of the COP26 Universities Network said, “It is really exciting to see UK and Singapore university experts pool their skills to provide solution-focussed evidence to our respective governments at this key moment for climate action.”

This UK-Singapore partnership comes at a time when Southeast Asia is recognised as one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change globally, with four ASEAN countries among the top 10 in the world adversely impacted by the effects of climate change.

The project is jointly commissioned by the UK Science and Innovation Network and the Climate Change and Energy Network, based at the British High Commission in Singapore.

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