On 10 May 2011, UK Business Secretary Vince Cable, Foreign Secretary William Hague and Lord Green, Minister for Trade launched the new UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Strategy and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Business Charter.

These new plans demonstrate the Government’s commitment to supporting international business, supporting UK business overseas and attracting investors to the country.

I encourage all to read both but would like to pick out two of their key points.

The first is that Egypt has been added to the list of nineteen 'priority markets’ where we will target our efforts to increase opportunities for UK companies.  In doing so, we recognise the disruption to business caused by this year’s remarkable political events in Egypt, but are confident that these political changes will make the Egyptian market an even better place to do business in the future.

The second point to emphasise is the UK Government’s renewed focus on partnerships with the private sector to increase companies' success overseas.   The Egyptian British Business Council (EBBC) is a key partner for UKTI and it plays a vital role ensuring that messages from business reach government.  We have been working with the EBBC for several years now and I welcome the launch of this website.  It is at once a symbol of our new commitment to the bilateral business relationship and a medium to bring information and advice to a wider range of UK companies.  I commend the website and the EBBC to all who wish to pursue trade and investment opportunities in Egypt and the UK.