Aiming at prosperity through commercial diplomacy

The recent country focus section on the United Kingdom in Diplomacy & Trade featured the 'UK Trade & Investment' as an organization that adapts to changing circumstances in Hungary and internationally, using the ‘Britain Open for Business’ strategy.

“UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is a governmental department that helps British companies do business overseas and supports overseas firms to set up or expand in the UK. Therefore, the Hungarian operations follow this same pattern. The main aim of UKTI Hungary is to do matchmaking in order to establish and expand partnerships between British and Hungarian businesses,” Dr. Dora Kulauzov, the Director of UK Trade & Investment in Hungary explains to Diplomacy & Trade. “My team has an in-depth knowledge of both markets and can provide a range of tailor-made services to UK-based firms looking to grow their business in the Hungarian market, including networking opportunities and bespoke market reports,” she adds.

As the international economic environment is constantly changing, UKTI is also changing its structure and taking steps to reduce bureaucracy to be able to respond to new types of challenges. “Since I joined UKTI exactly 2 years ago, the organization has become much more dynamic and flexible. It means UKTI is now much better placed to adapt its services to the changing needs of its customers,” the Director points out.

She adds that based on the ‘Britain Open for Business’ strategy, “at UKTI, we attach huge importance to providing high quality services to our customers. UKTI Hungary works on getting a deeper understanding of UK and Hungarian clients and their expectations; explaining the opportunities for UK-Hungarian collaboration and business to them; and matching UK and Hungarian companies who we think can work profitably together.”

All this serves the purpose of achieving prosperity and competitiveness, two important goals for UKTI. Rebranding and raising awareness have also been identified as a key activity. UKTI has recently introduced a campaign to promote British excellence in a number of areas abroad.

“A good example of this is the recently launched GREAT campaign as part of which UKTI organized promotional events such as the Formula 1 race in Hungary. At the Embassy, commercial work is in focus and we have launched a commercial diplomacy initiative. It means all sections of the British Embassy in Budapest have an important role in implementing the commercial diplomacy agenda,” Kulauzov says.

The UK government's ambition is to double UK exports to GBP 1 trillion (appr. EUR 1.2 trillion) by 2020 (compared to 2010). In order to achieve this ambitious goal, overseas business networks need to be strengthened. As part of this initiative, a British Business Centre will be established in Budapest in the first quarter of next year under the umbrella of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary (BCCH), supported by UKTI. The Centre will offer a wide range of services to British small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

As Kulauzov explains, “in line with this process, UKTI`s role will be changing. As most SME services will be provided by the British Business Centre in a couple of years, UKTI Hungary will shift its focus towards strategic activities, high value business opportunities, big campaigns like GREAT, government to government relations, and market access issues. The UKTI Hungary team in the Embassy will be engaging more with larger Hungarian companies so that we can identify potential for collaboration with larger British companies.”