UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has May 5 appointed Greg Clark MP as trade envoy to Japan to reinforce the strong UK-Japan trading relationship. The new trade envoy will help UK businesses take advantage of opportunities in the third-largest economy in the world.
Clark has held positions in HM Treasury and then the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, where he served as Secretary of State.
The UK has applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), one of the largest and most exciting free-trading clubs in the world. Japan is its largest economy and the UK’s 13th largest trading partner.
Strengthening relationship is key to the UK’s tilt towards the Indo-Pacific region, expected to be home to half the world’s 2.3 billion middle-class consumers by the end of the decade. Trade envoys promote UK trade and encourage inward investment from across the world.
Clark’s appointment takes the total to 37 trade envoys covering 77 markets across the globe. Trade envoys are parliamentarians appointed by the prime minister, drawn from both Houses and across the political sphere. The role is unpaid and voluntary.
UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said that the Indo-Pacific region is powering global growth, and that Japan is a vital partner for the UK in the region.
Photo credit: iStock/ DurkTalsma
