Europe will always be a major partner, but London’s future lies with the whole world
Last week I was delighted to join the Prime Minister’s business delegation as we visited three growing and outward facing African nations.
As the lord mayor of London, I will spend over 100 days of this year visiting between 25 and 30 countries, selling this great city all over the globe – from Tokyo to Toronto, Lisbon to Lagos.
It is not the most difficult sell.
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London has many strengths that should enable a growing, ambitious business to prosper. This unique creative energy is underpinned by a series of fundamentals, which include our rule of law, highly skilled talent, access to a cluster of specialised services, and an interconnected business community.
Yet, in these fast-changing times, it is vital that London’s success on the world stage and our position as the leading global financial centre is not taken for granted.
We need to ensure that London retains its competitive advantage and that businesses across the capital are in a position to take advantage of opportunities in growing international markets.
Trade secretary Liam Fox recently launched Britain’s new export strategy, setting out the government’s offer to businesses in helping them to increase trade with countries across the world. This includes a national ambition to raise the UK’s exports as a proportion of GDP from 30 to 35 per cent, putting our country towards the top of the G7.
Recent data from the Office for National Statistics showed that exports from UK financial services and insurance firms increased to a record high of £78bn last year, up from £75bn in 2016. We need this upward trend to continue.
This new strategy sets out a range of measures to help support UK companies, giving them the practical, promotional and financial support, they need to export.
In the run-up to Brexit, it is essential that we are prepared to reach our global trading potential in the face of changes to the geopolitical and technological landscape.
Europe will always be an important partner for London, particularly for our financial and professional services firms. However, we cannot afford to ignore opportunities in markets further away from home.
In the next 10 to 15 years, around 90 per cent of global economic growth is expected to be outside the EU. China is forecast to have 220 cities with a population of more than one million by 2030, when the whole of Europe has just 35. It is predicted that there will be 1.1bn middle-class Africans by 2060.
The opportunities in Africa alone are huge for London’s financial and professional services industry – that is why I visited Nigeria earlier this year with a business delegation, and why I was delighted to join the Prime Minister on her trip last week.
As the UK leaves the EU and charts a new course, I believe that the new export strategy is a significant step towards ensuring that businesses across the UK have the advice and finance necessary to tap into new markets.
London has always been at the centre of world commerce. Stronger trade links with our partners across the globe will help to create growth, jobs, and investment both at home and overseas.
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