More than 60 small businesses are taking part in the five-day trade mission led by Lord Livingston, which is part of UK Trade and Investment’s target of doubling trade with Central and Eastern Europe by £30bn by the end of the decade.
The delegation of businesses includes companies from the energy, rail, healthcare, life sciences, retail and security sectors, which “reflects some of the highest value opportunities for British business in the region”, according to UKTI.
During the visit Lord Livingston, who was formerly the CEO of BT, will launch two new British Business Centres in Slovakia and Hungary, in a bid to increase the support available to UK SMEs exporting to those countries.
A British Business Centre for Poland opened last year, and business centres in the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovenia are also due to open shortly.
“This is a dynamic and exciting growth market. British firms have doubled trade exports to Eastern and Central European countries in the last 10 years but we still lag behind our rivals,” says Trade Minister Lord Livingston.
“By 2020, I want to double exports to this region, so we are ramping up our support for British firms on the ground by opening a network of business centres across the region and increasing the number of trade missions to introduce more British businesses to potential buyers.”
The four countries of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, along with five others in Central Europe (Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia and Croatia), have a combined population of over 100 million people, a combined GDP in excess of £1tn.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
