The UK’s Ambassador to Sweden, Samantha Job will be in South Wales this week to build connections with businesses and boost investment and trade with Sweden.
Ambassador Job’s visit this week is part of a ‘domestic roadshow’ launched by the UK Government earlier this year, in which Ambassadors and High Commissioners are being asked by the Foreign Secretary to meet with businesses across the country in order to support them to expand into key growth-driving markets.
This week’s two-day visit will build on an already thriving trading relationship with the UK’s 13th biggest trading partner Sweden, which is worth over £36 billion and supports thousands of jobs across Wales.
Ambassador Job will have discussions with a range of Welsh energy, defence and life sciences business leaders and will attend Wales Tech Week, where she will meet the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans.
Energy, defence, life sciences, and technology are all priority sectors under the Government’s Industrial Strategy – a 10-year plan to increase business investment and grow the industries of the future in the UK.
She will also meet with representatives of Swedish ferry operator Stena Line, and visit Swedish military IT specialist MilDef, which has established its first production facility outside the Scandinavian nation at the Bro Tathan business park in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Ambassador Job will round off her roadshow tour by meeting representatives of the Life Sciences Hub Wales at its HQ in Cardiff.
His Majesty’s Ambassador to Sweden, Samantha Job said:
“It’s exciting to be in Wales to help develop the relationships that will create growth in every corner of the UK.
“The UK Government’s Plan for Change is making Britain the best country to do business with, and these roadshow discussions will help showcase Wales’ abundance of digital and tech strengths on the international stage.”
Over a dozen Roadshow visits with top Ambassadors and High Commissioners have taken place to date across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, helping to build international connections for local businesses.
Wales exported goods worth £294.4 million to Sweden last year – worth 5.8 per cent of the overall UK total. Sweden was the 9th largest export market for Welsh goods.
Investment by Swedish firms in Wales is boosting the local economy and creating jobs. There are around 45 Swedish-owned companies in Wales, employing 2,700 people.
Stena Line has welcomed the UK Government’s announcement that North Wales will be designated as the first UK AI Growth Zone. The news comes shortly after Stena revealed its plans for a new technology park at Prosperity Parc on Anglesey in September.
Island of Anglesey County Council gave its approval to Stena’s plans for the creation of a new, low carbon, 220-acre technology park at Prosperity Parc, which will now sit at the heart of the new North Wales AI Growth Zone.
