The Pakistan–Britain Trade and Investment Forum http://www.pbtif.co.uk (PBTIF) acts as the primary institution for promoting the development of trade and investment between Pakistan and the UK. Supported by both governments, which maintain observer status to the forum, it is entirely financed by the private sector. A secretariat function is provided by Asia House.
The PBTIF plays an important role in raising issues in the commercial sphere that need to be addressed by the governments of both Pakistan and the UK. The forum has witnessed considerable growth in membership over the last three years, with nearly 30 corporate members from sectors as diverse as finance, energy, medicine, professional services and construction.
Our events have included engagement with a number of key economic and political decision-makers, as well as conferences highlighting the tremendous opportunities for profitable trade and investment with Pakistan. Among our key speakers in 2006 were HE Shaukat Aziz, prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Dr Shamshad Akhtar and the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan. A delegation from PBTIF accompanied a UK minister visiting Pakistan, highlighting events of interest taking place there.
From time to time, help is also given to cultural activities. In a unique demonstration of support in 2005, we organised – within five weeks of the disaster – the Pakistan Earthquake Appeal Concert and Fashion Show at the Royal Albert Hall, raising nearly £30,000 for the victims.
The British Malaysian Society (BMS) is one of the two principal non-governmental organisations in the UK involved in British–Malaysian relations. It works closely with the other principal body – the Overseas Malaysian Executive Club (OMEC) – on joint events, via joint committees.
The BMS has a wide-based membership, which is open to all companies and individuals. We have a number of distinguished patrons and council members, and our educational role is underpinned by the fact that our council includes three university vice-chancellors (Nottingham, University College London and Birmingham), all with Malaysian links, not least Nottingham’s recently relocated campus near Kuala Lumpur.
Together with the OMEC, the BMS works closely with the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority, the UK’s Department of Trade and Industry and the Kuala Lumpur-based Britain Malaysian Chamber of Commerce.
The society has links to the Royal Society of Asian Affairs and to Asia House (who provide our secretariat), and our members are welcome to become involved in the activities of both of these organisations.
The society has on offer individual, joint, corporate and student memberships.
Members will receive, by email or post, a regular update of events planned, all of which are run at estimated cost price.
In addition, the society is arranging for members to be eligible for club terms at certain restaurants in and for travel to Malaysia. Details will be circulated as these arrangements are finalised.
For more information, check out the society’s website www.thebritishmalaysiansociety.org.
It meets once a year, alternating between London and Seoul, with a mandate to consider all aspects of the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Its deliberations fully cover trade, investment, science and technology, foreign policy, security, education, tourism and culture. It pays particular attention to the latest developments on the Korean peninsula.
Following each meeting, the co-presidents and co-chairmen make recommendations to their respective foreign ministers, and other ministers concerned, on policy options to enhance bilateral ties.
Participation is at a high level, from Parliament, industry, banking, academia, the media and government.
The status of the forum has been further enhanced by the recent tenure of the forum’s Korean co-president, Dr Han Seung-Soo, as minister of foreign affairs and trade in Korea.
When the forum sends delegations to Seoul, they always receive very high-level attention. The UK delegation has on several occasions met the prime minister before its meetings in the Korean capital, and the last two times, the minister of foreign affairs and trade addressed our opening lunch.
In the UK, the forum lobbies ministers and others on matters of interest to the bilateral relationship. It is funded largely by the private sector. Our sponsors include AMEC, BAE Systems, BAT, Barclays Capital, BP International, Diageo, GlaxoSmithKline Korea, HSBC, ING, Rolls Royce, Standard Chartered Bank and Tesco. In addition, the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office has provided valuable support in different ways.
The current UK president of the forum is Lord Kerr; the chairman is Sir Paul Newall; and the executive director is Stefan Koscuiszko.
In 1984, the group was established – as the UK–Japan 2000 Group – with the strong encouragement of the then prime ministers of the UK and Japan, Margaret Thatcher and Yasuhiro Nakasone. Its principal objective was to ‘to advance the education of the citizens of the United Kingdom and of the citizens of Japan in all aspects of each other's public institutions, systems of government, and also in all branches of each other's political, economic, industrial and social sciences and culture’.
Meetings of the group have since taken place annually, alternately in the UK and Japan. The participants are parliamentarians and leading personalities from business, the media and academia.
At their bilateral meeting in London in 2000, prime ministers Tony Blair and Junichiro Koizumi endorsed the value of the group and approved its new title: the UK–Japan 21st Century Group. They asked the Rt Hon. Peter Mandelson, its new UK co-chairman, and the new Japanese co-chairman Yasuhisa Shiozaki, of the Japanese House of Councillors, to take a fresh look at the modus operandi of the group and make the agenda as relevant as possible to current issues. Under their chairmanship, the group celebrated its 20th anniversary at the annual meeting in the UK in 2004.
In 2005, the Rt Hon. Lord (Jack) Cunningham took over as UK co-chairman at the request of Prime Minister Blair, following the appointment of Peter Mandelson as European trade commissioner. Mr Shiozaki has remained Japanese co-chairman, despite his elevation, first, to the post of senior vice-minister of foreign affairs, and then to his current position of chief cabinet secretary.
It is customary for the visiting delegation to meet the prime minister of the host country before each annual meeting. Later, the co-chairmen will submit to the respective prime ministers their summary of the meeting and its recommendations.
Today the purpose of the UK–Japan 21st Century Group is to discuss any issue that might affect our bilateral ties and to make recommendations on how to improve them. However, its focus has shifted, though not exclusively, to the wider issues of global and regional importance.
The group has recently drawn attention to opportunities for joint action in many different fields – for instance, science and technology cooperation, China, energy, climate change, governance for international business, international trade negotiations, international development, ageing populations, and the information society. It also encourages both governments to investigate areas where the exchange of experience or good practice can be of mutual benefit, on such topics as civil society, nuclear energy and regional government.
For more information, contact the assistant to the executive director of the UK–Japan 21st Century Group.
The UK–India Business Council (UKIBC) is the new name for the UK-based Indo-British Partnership Network with the secretariat provided by Asia House until September 2007.
The IBPN was established in 2005 on the back of the Indo-British Partnership (IBP) initiative, created in 1993 by the then prime ministers of the UK and India. The IBPN rose quickly to become the standard bearer for fostering Indo-British trade relations, with a mandate to increase bilateral trade, business and investment between the two countries.
The UKIBC continues to be backed by both governments, chaired by leading industry figures and supported by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).
The current co-chairmen of the Indo-British Partnership are Mr Phiroz Vandrevala, executive vice president of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, and Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, founder and chief executive of Cobra Beer, representing Indian and UK industry respectively. Lord Bilimoria additionally serves as chairman of the UKIBC.
During a recent visit to India, the then chancellor, Gordon Brown, announced that the UK government intended to boost its annual funding of the UKIBC to £1 million, a significant increase on the previous level of £75,000. It is intended that this government funding will be matched by private sector sponsorship, membership fees and the income from charged services.
The increase in funding confirms the government’s recognition of the UKIBC as the UK’s lead body in promoting and developing Indo-British trade relations. It has become – as was recommended in a House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee report on India – ‘the de facto Indo-British Chamber of Commerce’.
The UK–India Business Council has hired its first chief executive, and is in the process of restructuring its board and moving to its own offices. It will provide consultancy services for all British companies wishing to trade with India and for Indian companies wishing to invest in the UK. It will continue to contribute to policy formation at the highest level and to the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) process.
The UKIBC will also continue to operate as a membership organisation for companies, organisations and individuals interested in working with India, by organising events and delegations to take the Indo-British relationship forward.