Export Week focuses on high growth markets

Companies across the North East attended Export Week to discover more about High Growth Markets.

More than 470 delegates attended a series of eight UK Trade & Investment events held across the region.

The initiative focused on those markets offering the strongest opportunities including Brazil, Russia, India, China and others such as Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, Qatar, South Africa, South Korea and the UAE.

The Export Week also featured a special graduation ceremony for those who had successfully completed the Passport to Export (P2E) and Gateway to Global Growth (G3) programmes.

The week’s highlights also included the annual North East Exporters’ Awards gala dinner at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, where the region’s heroes of export were recognised and their achievements celebrated.

David Coppock, Regional Director for UK Trade & Investment in the North East, said: “I was delighted to be able to kick off the week with Business Secretary Vince Cable at the site of UKTI’s new Exporting is GREAT campaign poster close to St James’s Park in Newcastle.

“It really couldn’t have been a more appropriate phrase to use at the start of what has been a phenomenal week.

“Right throughout, from our first event in Wynyard, which included the graduation ceremony, to the awards dinner in Sunderland and then our final event at Durham CCC, the attendance was fantastic.

“The awards, which we run each year with our partners the North East Chamber of Commerce and HSBC, provided a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the region’s exporting achievements – and what a lot we had to celebrate with £13.691 billion worth of goods and services exported last year.

“The focus of the week was High Growth Markets and there was huge interest from local companies who were keen to hear from the many experts we brought together from far and wide.

“They included the CEO of the Middle East Association Matt Smith and the Consul General of Chonqing, China Simon Lever.

“Their insight into the markets was invaluable and I’m sure inspired the delegates to find out more.

“Now that the week is over, we will be continuing our efforts and working with our many partners to ensure North East companies can maximise the opportunities High Growth Markets offer and prove to themselves that Exporting is GREAT for them, their business, their staff and the economy.”

Organised by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), Export Week followed the success of a similar initiative in November last year, and once again UKTI teamed up with partners and business organisations to host events across the country.