New York visit to promote UK business
The Prime Minister will highlight what the Government is doing to make inward investment into the UK as attractive as possible.
The Prime Minister is using his attendance at the UN General Assembly Ministerial debate in New York this week to promote British business across the Atlantic.
It is part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to boost prosperity at home by linking Britain up to the fastest growing parts of the world.
Around a busy schedule of bilaterals and diplomatic work, the Prime Minister will seize on the legacy of the London Olympics to further promote Britain as a guest on CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman.
Reaching an average of over three million viewers per night, the Prime Minister is due to appear on Wednesday’s show to highlight all that Britain has to offer and to encourage more Americans to visit or to set up a business in the United Kingdom.
Tech City investment
David Cameron will meet the founders of some of New York’s most innovative technology start-ups who have London’s Tech City in their sights as part of their global expansion plans.
Entrepreneurs from 13 leading tech start-ups are set to invest over £30 million in the UK in coming months, and expected to create more than 100 news jobs in East London’s fast-growing technology cluster.
This means that around 100 US companies will be responsible for over 1,500 jobs in Tech City in the next three years.
The Prime Minister will use the meeting to highlight what the Government is doing to make inward investment into the UK as attractive as possible. He will stress that Britain is open for business and emphasise initiatives such as tax breaks for start-ups; special visas for entrepreneurs and support for venture capital.
And he will promote iCITY - the new technology park being developed on the site of the Olympic media and broadcasting centre which is one of the most digitally connected buildings in Europe. This will add huge value to East London’s technology cluster with Tech City now one of the fastest growing digital centres in the world. A recent report by the Centre for London suggests Tech City is now home to over 750 high-tech companies.
The Prime Minister will also launch the London-NYC Start-Up Awards programme which will celebrate the thriving technology community in both cities.
The awards will look to increase business collaboration between the cities and offer a number of mentoring opportunities.
The first awards ceremony will be held in New York in 2013, with the judging panel including UK and US-based successful tech founders. In a sector built on the sharing of new ideas, this initiative will provide a platform for entrepreneurs in both cities to work more closely together, cementing both cities’ status as leading technology hubs and boosting investment and growth.
Millennium Development Goals challenge
The Prime Minister is also expected to use his visit to challenge world leaders to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Co-chairing the first meeting of the UN High Level Panel on the post Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Prime Minister is expected to say that despite tough economic times, countries cannot lose sight delivering the existing eight goals.
With three years to go before the deadline, the PM wants to galvanise the international community to do more to tackle the issues that blight millions across the world.
While the scale and speed of poverty reduction since 2000 is unprecedented in human history, less than half of the 142 objectives that underpin the MDGs are on track to meet the 2015 targets. And in 13 areas, there is evidence that things are getting worse not better.
Re-affirming the Government’s commitment to spending 0.7% of Gross National Income on overseas aid, the Prime Minister will call on countries to back their words with action and provide the necessary funding to achieve better results for the poorest.
The Prime Minister is also expected to renew calls for aid to be far more transparent, accountable and focussed on results.
He will point to the UK’s own success in targeting development aid for maximum impact, so that UK funding saves three million people from poverty each year.
External site: General Assembly of the United Nations
External site: Millennium Development Goals