To mark Commonwealth Day 2022 celebrations (14 March), a series of business engagement events across the UK, Australia and the United Arab Emirates designed to bolster trade relations between the UK and Commonwealth markets is being hosted by the Business and Tourism Programme (BATP) of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The events will bring together international business leaders, female entrepreneurs and diplomatic officials from High Commissions in the UK and Commonwealth governments, with the aim of supporting growth in the West Midlands and wider UK, promoting both export and inward investment opportunities.

Delegates attending Expo 2022, Dubai, will be invited to the UK Pavilion, where a series of activities will take place today, highlighting the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, inviting potential business leaders and tourists to visit the host city during and beyond the Games.

The Business and Tourism Programme events held over Commonwealth Day set the stage for an international showcase for the Birmingham 2022 Business and Tourism Programme in Australia, as the Queen’s Baton Relay gets set for this major milestone (17-19 March).

Looking ahead, an online roundtable, entitled ‘Australia and UK: Culture and Sport in the Global Economy’ will take place on 18 March, led by the Department for International Trade (DIT) in partnership with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC). The event will convene sports and business leaders from the UK and Australia, who will hold discussions on the business benefits of hosting major sporting events, including the spill over economic impact across education, health, construction, tourism and real-estate trade.

Harjinder Kang, Director, Department for International Trade, said, ‘The Commonwealth is home to nearly one third of the world’s population, half of the globe’s top 20 emerging cities and has 60% of its population under 30, so the opportunities for trade are immense and I am delighted that we have been able to celebrate International Woman’s Day and Commonwealth Day by facilitating so many productive business conversations across the world, both this week and during the Queen’s Baton Relay so far. The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, gives us a once in a lifetime opportunity to shine a light on the huge talent and world-leading innovation of businesses in the Midlands, and the Business and Tourism Programme is proud to help international business access new markets, boost innovation and encourage two-way trade.”

To celebrate International Woman’s Day, the Department for International Trade held its inaugural Woman in Business, Trading Across the Commonwealth Conference on 8 March, in Birmingham. Exceptional female leaders including Sally Gunnell OBE, Olympic and Commonwealth Champion, Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, Chairwoman of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, Clare James, Manging Director East Midlands Airport, and Chika Russell, Dragon’s Den Entrepreneur inspired female entrepreneurs to grow their businesses through exports and to work with the Department for International Trade whilst doing so.

High Commissioners and government officials from across the Commonwealth including Africa, the Caribbean, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Belize were personally introduced to the Business and Tourism Programme and the entrepreneurial spirit of the Midlands by the Department of International Trade on 9th March, to demonstrate why Commonwealth business should trade with the region. They were taken to the Peaky Blinders set, Black Country Museum, Dudley; the University of Warwick, Alternative Propulsion Centre; The Global Surgery Unit at the University of Birmingham; the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure and Aston Manor Cider, to understand at first sight the strong business economy, rich pool of talent and innovative trading environment that is Birmingham and the Midlands.

The Trading with the Commonwealth Conference was held on 10 March and the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Wilfred Emmanuel Jones MBE and Darren Henry MP and Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to the Caribbean discussed the Commonwealth business opportunity to the attending businesspeople. DIT International Trade Advisors and DIT’s Export Support Services (ESS) also attended and gave an overview of the services available to businesses wanting to grow through internationalisation.

The events follow the launch of the West Midlands Global Growth Programme - a new Government-backed incentive package designed to support trade and investment between the West Midlands and Commonwealth markets. The Programme offers ambitious businesses seeking to enter the UK market a tailored package of free support, in addition to supporting West Midlands based businesses that are ready to begin or scale exporting to international markets. Led by the West Midlands Growth Company* in collaboration with the Department for International Trade, the initiative also forms part of the Business and Tourism Programme.