International Trade

International Trade round-up

Visit to the Pakistan High Commission

We are proud to have delivered two events for Pakistan. The first was at the Pakistan High Commission where we were received cordially and introduced to Shafiq A Shahzad, High Commission for Pakistan, Rashid Iqbal Chief Executive, Pakistan Britain Business Council, Imran Khalil Naseer, Chairman the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry together with members of their delegation to the UK.

After introductions to the many assembled business representatives, we expressed our sorrow for the loss of life and terrible destruction wreaked upon Pakistan, due to the worst flooding in recent history. Samia Chaudhary, who was the Mayor of Hounslow between 2018-19, outlined the position of the Council, we then discussed what the Chamber of Commerce can do to help promote bilateral trade. With Heathrow Airport being the single largest driver of business in our West London area, there is so much we can do in friendly collaboration.

A follow up meeting was then arranged for twenty- three delegates from Pakistan to meet a similar number from our Chamber to sign an MOU to promote trade and make presentations for products that can produce potable water from the atmosphere. With events and trade discussions with Oman, Morocco, Libya, Bangladesh, India, Palestine and Pakistan we have been very busy promoting bilateral trade for West London.

Oman

We had meetings via University of West London with their Minister of Transport and Minister of Tourism attended by our members CBS and Kew Bridge travel, CLS and Somar Projects to talk about this frontier market opening up again. The UK is the number one foreign investor in the country on the back of extremely strong links. •••

India

As part our ongoing engagement with India, ahead of the much talked about Free Trade Agreement, we hosted a mini summit for an in-bound trade mission organised by Dr Renu Raj of Radanks. Speakers presented on India market entry, IP, Accounts and Mediation / Arbitration.

Following this success, we will be hosting a much larger trade summit soon. •••

Arab British Trade Conference

Our Chamber was a main participant in this year’s conference where we visited our trading partner stands from Tripoli Chamber, Lebanon and Palestine to help introduce our members to new customers in these ROW markets.

Morocco

We were proud to be an integral part of an event to promote mainly Tourism to Southern Morocco with our members Kew Bridge Travel plus EWA Controls. This will be part of on-going bilateral trade development to help business grow in both markets including Tourism, Agriculture, Aviation and Green Energy.

International relations

West London Chambers of Commerce including Hounslow Chamber held a reception to welcome Tripoli Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture on 16th September at Spring Grove House.

This conference on trade with Libya was further to the MOU that had been signed last year via Zoom in the midst of the COVID pandemic. The 20 strong delegation from Tripoli was led by their GM Mr Mohamed Duzan and assisted by international relations manager Dr Tarek Elsmuai. Receiving the visitors were 50 attendees with presentations from PM Trade Envoy Yvonne Fovargue MP, Alan Rides CEO West London Chambers, Peter Millett former British Ambassador to Libya, now head LCCB, Lydie Sheehan Country Director DIT British Embassy Libya, with exporter case study presentations from Simon Barrell of L3Harris, Paul Denny SKS Group, and from BACB bank Mike Galer and Hatem Lukhai.

After the formal presentations, 1-2-1 discussions were arranged to improve educational links with Brunel and UWL / WTC. Other sectors represented were oil & gas equipment, retail, tourism, banking and healthcare.

E&E Architects from Hounslow held interesting discussions regarding architecture and construction to rebuild the country. Across all the sectors, the various contracts have a value of around £400m.

After the event Lydie Sheehan said it was the largest Libya event that she had presented to in her three year posting at the British Embassy Tripoli.

Following this major event, Tripoli Chamber’s new Chairman Mr Anwar Salem Abouseta led a follow up group who visited and re signed an MOU with our Chamber.

One of the major companies in the delegation was The Libyan Company for Public Private Partnerships who announced they have a budget of $66bn to rebuild Libya and are looking for UK companies to partner with.

Hounslow marks 40th twin-town anniversary with Issy-les-Moulineaux

The Council and Hounslow Chamber of Commerce celebrate 40th anniversary of town-twinning with Issy-les-Moulineaux in France.

At the end of September, the Leader of Hounslow Council, Cllr Shantanu Rajawat and the Mayor of Hounslow, Cllr Raghwinder Siddhu, along with members of Hounslow Chamber of Commerce and a small delegation of council officers were delighted to be invited to Issy-les-Moulineaux to mark our 40th town-twinning anniversary.

Hounslow has been twinned with Issy since 1982 - forty years of a valued friendship and partnership. Undoubtedly, a length of time to mark and reflect.

The twinning between the towns years ago started with a pupil exchange programme, which still sees young aspiring French and English speakers discover the history and culture of their twin-towns every year. Today our teams also work closely together with the Chamber of Commerce to explore and develop new economic and business opportunities through tourism, visitor economy and other shared sectors such as IT, Digital and Communications. Like Hounslow, Issy is determined to support innovation through smart city initiatives, the tech and media industry, and the green economy amongst others.

During the weekend, along with celebrating the historic 40-year partnership with Issy, the Council showcased Hounslow’s incredible visitor offer at an ‘English Village’ set in the Town Hall square which was attended by residents, visitors, and local businesses. An incredible opportunity for us to promote Hounslow on international soil as a place to visit and explore.

Leader of Hounslow Council, Cllr Shantanu Rajawat said:

“We are very grateful for the invitation from the Mayor of Issy, Andre Santini and the warm welcome we received from their delegation. The official ceremony held at Issy’s Town Hall, with the signing of the ‘renewal of the twinning agreement’ was an important motion signifying the commitment of both our councils to continue to preserve and develop our long-lasting partnership.

“To pay tribute to our late Queen, Elizabeth II, a minute of silence was also observed at the Town Hall ceremony. A poignant moment to pay respect to a monarch who leaves a tremendous legacy of bringing communities together during both the most difficult and joyful of times. In the light of what is going on elsewhere in our world, it is particularly important to further such friendships between nations and work together to face the challenges ahead”. “I was lucky to have been a pupil in Hounslow who took part in the school exchange and visited Issy as part of the programme, so I’m really proud to have been able to mark 40 years of an active town-twinning relationship which has created these opportunities for young people as well as all the other joint projects which promote our town cities. I look forward to continuing to work closely with our counterparts in Issy”.

The Mayor of Hounslow, Cllr Raghwinder Siddhu also said: “There is no doubt, Issy and Hounslow have many similarities, in geography, business, economy and so on. But we also share the passion and commitment to actively engage with each other and make sure our town-twinning plays a positive role for our residents. We value the longstanding relationship we hold with Issy and look forward to continuing this friendship for another 40 years and beyond”.

Alan Rides and Sally Smith led the Chamber’s group and commented, “We, as a Chamber, were delighted to be involved and took some businesses from the tourism, and sport supply chain sectors to help grow bilateral trade. The atmosphere at the English Village on the Saturday was really positive, with many residents from Issy and further field taking the time to engage with us. We were very proud to be able to promote the borough of Hounslow to our French neighbours, as a tourism destination. Over the stay, we visited a number of tourism sites, and businesses, learning more about Issy, Paris – a truly smart city! Through such visits, mutual business will grow. We very much look forward to re-welcoming a delegation from Issy les Moulineaux to Hounslow, hopefully in early 2023.”