The Duke of Cambridge with Dr. Liam Fox and DIT Permanent Secretary Antonia Romeo

The Department for International Trade’s (DIT) GREAT campaign curated an array of interactive showcases to entertain guests at the ‘Welcome to the UK Reception’, marking the first day of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London.

The Duke of Cambridge welcomed all 52 of the other Commonwealth countries to London at the reception, which presented the best of British expertise, innovation and creativity.

The interactive showcases included:

• a virtual reality experience, with British astronaut Tim Peake, by the Science Museum
• the men’s and women’s Cricket World Cup and Premier League trophies brought to life by sport stars Alan Shearer and Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent, explaining the impact of sport on the Commonwealth
• a display of Commonwealth fashion, as part of the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange project, showcasing designers and artisans from each of the 53 countries

Promoting UK food and drink, the GREAT campaign allowed guests to sample the very best of British cuisine, with products from each nation of the UK. They ranged from classics like Welsh lamb and Scottish smoked salmon to cutting-edge ice cream – frozen in front of the guests using liquid nitrogen.

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:

As we welcome the Commonwealth Heads of Government to London, it was fantastic to show our friends the very best of what Britain has to offer – from innovation, sport and cuisine.

As an international economic department, we will continue to promote business and trade with all Commonwealth members driving prosperity both at home and abroad.

Published 18 April 2018

Environment Secretary Michael Gove will today call on sports leaders from across the Commonwealth to join the fight against plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.

As part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting taking place in London this week, the Environment Secretary will host leaders from across the sports sector on board the HMS Belfast in London to drive forward innovation and agree actions to tackle the global scourge of plastic.

With mass sporting events often generating up to 750,000 plastic bottles and seven tonnes of waste, the Environment Secretary and representatives from Premier League football, swimming and ocean sailing will look at how the sector can use its influence to tackle this blight and bring about global change.

This will build on the work already underway by industry – with this year’s Commonwealth Games banning the use of plastic balloons and rolling out water refills to reduce plastic, and Twickenham Stadium introducing a deposit return scheme for ‘fan cups’, where fans pay an extra £1 for their cup and get the money back when they return it to the bar. Tottenham Hotspur has also announced its commitment to phasing out single-use plastics across all Club operations.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:

Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time and we all have a role to play to tackle the threats our oceans face.

There are few groups which have the global reach and power the sports sector does to inspire change and mobilise action. The industry is already making great strides, and I look forward to seeing how they can build on this progress to be true ambassadors for global change.

Bill Bush, Executive Director of the Premier League, will also attend the roundtable. He said:

The Premier League is well aware of the importance of taking action against plastic pollution, it affects us all and our fans expect us to do what we can to tackle this threat. We are here today to learn from others as we develop our plans to reduce plastic use throughout our operations.

We also want to use our reach to fans here and across the world to spread the word that each and every one of us can make a difference by choosing to use less plastic.

Jointly co-hosted with United Nations Environment, attendees at the roundtable will also be encouraged to join the UN’s ‘Clean Seas’ campaign – a global initiative to reduce plastic pollution in the oceans.

Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh will attend in his role as the UN’s Patron of the Oceans. He said:

I’ve been swimming for 30 years and can be under no illusion life in our oceans is under threat like never before. Beaches across the world are littered with bags, bottles and straws, and plastic has made its way to some of the most remote corners of the ocean.

Single-use plastics have no place in the modern world and I will be urging sportsmen and women, especially those involved with ocean sports, to help us share this important message and be voices for the protection of our oceans.

This year’s World Environment Day on June 5 will focus on the issue of plastic pollution – with UN Environment working with sports organisations across the world to take action to address their plastic footprint.

The roundtable comes as just this week the Prime Minister announced the UK and Vanuatu-led Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance – an agreement between member states to join forces in the fight against plastic.

Britain, together with joint chair Vanuatu, will call on other countries to pledge action on plastics, be this by a ban on microbeads, a commitment to cutting down on single use plastic bags, or other steps to eliminate avoidable plastic waste. New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ghana have already joined.

To drive this forward, the Prime Minister also announced a £61.4 million package of funding to boost global research and help countries across the Commonwealth stop plastic waste from entering the oceans in the first place.

Dr Fox announced that the Department for International Trade (DIT) is looking for an innovative, award-winning design concept for the UK’s pavilion at Expo 2020, which creates the most original, inspiring and memorable visitor experience possible.

The Expo 2020 theme will be ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the future’ with an expected footfall of 25 million visitors from around the world, providing an ideal platform to project Britain as a global force for prosperity, innovation, creativity and thought leadership. As this is the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, the opportunities to connect with one of the most dynamic, young, and fastest growing regions in the world are immense.

The UK’s participation will consist of a self-build pavilion, supported by an accompanying programme of business and cultural events all related to the theme: Global Britain – Innovating for a Shared Future.

Britain has a proud tradition in supporting global expos, hosting the first ever Expo, The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry at Crystal Palace in 1851, with previous winning entries at Shanghai 2010 and Milan 2015. This historic expertise was a key factor in British companies, including Foster and Partners and Grimshaw Architects, winning contracts worth £1 billion to help build and deliver Expo 2020 Dubai itself.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox said:

I am delighted to announce that the UK will be participating in Expo 2020 Dubai which will offer UK businesses a fantastic opportunity to showcase the best of British innovation, over 150 years on from the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, the world’s first ever expo.

As an international economic department, DIT is ensuring British businesses make the most of growing markets and export their goods around the world. The festival will be a major showcase for the UK in the Middle East, and a shop window for the best of our creativity and innovation.

Further information

• Expo 2020 Dubai takes place between 20 October 2020 and 10 April 2021 and is based on the theme: Connecting Minds, Creating the future. This will be the first Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region (MEASA). 180 nations will take part in Expo 2020 Dubai alongside NGOs and sponsors.
• Six million visitors attended the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851. This gave rise to the development of the area now known as ‘Albertopolis’ in London, which contains a large number of educational and cultural sites including the Natural History Museum, Royal Albert Hall and the V&A.
• Companies have until the 24 April to apply to design the pavilion – applications should be made online
• Companies interested in wider Expo supply opportunities should visit the Expo procurement portal for further information
• DIT is holding a series of events across Britain for everyone interested in the design tender.

The UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) has overall responsibility for promoting UK trade across the world and attracting foreign investment to our economy. We are a specialised government body with responsibility for negotiating international trade policy, supporting business, as well as delivering an outward-looking trade diplomacy strategy.

The UK Prime Minister will today announce up to £15 million to help Commonwealth countries strengthen their cyber security capabilities and help to tackle criminal groups and hostile state actors who pose a global threat to security, including in the UK.

Theresa May will announce the package on the eve of the formal Heads of Government Meeting where leaders are expected to agree the ‘Commonwealth Cyber Declaration’, the world’s largest and most geographically diverse inter-governmental commitment on cyber security cooperation.

Cyber attacks do not respect international borders. Supporting other countries to build their cyber resilience helps them prevent criminals and hostile state actors from operating online and targeting other countries. The declaration sets out for the first time a common vision for ensuring the internet remains free and open across the Commonwealth.

It will commit members to raising national levels of cyber security and increased cooperation to counter those who seek to undermine our values, security, even the integrity of elections.

The new funding will support Commonwealth partners as they prevent and respond to cyber security risks affecting governments, businesses and citizens.

£5.5 million of this will enable low and middle income Commonwealth members to carry out national cyber security capacity reviews before the next CHOGM in 2020. It will underpin projects across the Commonwealth to provide technical assistance, training and advice to address a wide range of cyber security and cyber crime threats.

Cyber threats are among the greatest security challenges of our time which affect us all – small states and their economies are left particularly vulnerable without the support and capacity building to protect themselves. The agreement will help foster international stability in cyberspace and build more resilient digital economies. Ultimately, it will contribute to stronger economic growth and sustainable development across the Commonwealth’s 2.4 billion people.

It comes as the Prime Minister is set on Wednesday to join Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull, New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau for an intelligence partners meeting.

It also comes as Digital Secretary Matt Hancock and Singaporean Foreign Minister Dr Balakrishnan have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on cyber security capacity building, in both the Commonwealth and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

This will promote cooperation in cyber security and commit the countries to working together to deliver a programme for two years, including on emergency response and training, which builds on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2017.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

The future is at the heart of the Commonwealth events being held this week and with that, we must look towards the emerging challenges that we and our Commonwealth partners face. Cyber security affects us all, as online crime does not respect international borders.

I have called on Commonwealth leaders to take action and to work collectively to tackle this threat. Our package of funding will enable members to review their cyber security capability, and deliver the stability and resilience that we all need to stay safe online and grow our digital economies.

The Commonwealth plays a pivotal role in shaping the future for many of its members. We have put security on the agenda for the first time so we can work together and build a safer future both for Britain, and for the 2.4 billion people around the world who live in the Commonwealth.