UK Ambassador to Sweden visits South Wales to strengthen trade and investment links
UK Ambassador to Sweden visits South Wales to strengthen trade and investment links
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The UK’s Ambassador to Sweden, Samantha Job, visited South Wales this week as part of a government drive to strengthen international connections for UK businesses and showcase regional strengths to major global markets.
Her two-day visit is part of a new ‘domestic roadshow’ initiative launched by the Foreign Secretary earlier this year, which tasks Ambassadors and High Commissioners with engaging directly with UK businesses to support overseas expansion and attract inward investment.
The visit builds on a significant trading relationship between the UK and Sweden, currently worth more than £36 billion.
Sweden is the UK’s 13th largest trading partner, with Welsh exports to the country valued at £294.4 million last year, representing 5.8% of total UK exports to Sweden.
Swedish companies continue to be major investors in Wales, with around 45 firms employing approximately 2,700 people across the country.
Ambassador Job began her South Wales tour on Monday, meeting leaders from Welsh energy, defence and life sciences companies.
Job met with Swedish ferry operator Stena Line and visited the Welsh facility of Swedish military IT specialist MilDef.
MilDef chose the Bro Tathan business park in the Vale of Glamorgan for its first production site outside Scandinavia, a move seen as a vote of confidence in Wales’ high-skilled workforce.
The Ambassador concluded her trip on Tuesday with a meeting at the Life Sciences Hub Wales headquarters in Cardiff.
Minister for Europe, Stephen Doughty, welcomed the visit, highlighting its importance for Welsh economic growth.
He said: “I’m delighted that His Majesty’s Ambassador to Sweden was in Cardiff this week as part of our ongoing work to drive economic growth.
“Our Ambassadors are working hard to help UK businesses to grow overseas and attract foreign investment into local communities.
“Our relationship with Sweden is already creating jobs across Wales and I’m looking forward to seeing what more comes out of this partnership in the future.”
Ambassador Job said the visit was intended to build momentum behind Wales’ international profile.
She said: “It’s exciting to be in Wales to help develop the relationships that will create growth in every corner of the UK.
“The UK Government’s Plan for Change is making Britain the best country to do business with, and these roadshow discussions will help showcase Wales’ abundance of digital and tech strengths on the international stage.”
The visit coincides with growing Swedish investment activity in the region. Stena Line recently welcomed the UK Government’s announcement that North Wales will become the country’s first AI Growth Zone.
The designation follows the company’s plans, revealed in September, for a new low-carbon, 220-acre technology park at Prosperity Parc on Anglesey.
The scheme, approved by the Isle of Anglesey County Council earlier this autumn, is set to play a central role in the new AI hub, further cementing links between Wales and Sweden.
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