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GRIM DOWN SOUTH?
REALIGN THE COMPASS TO POINT ABROAD
Thursday 28 November 2002
In response to the North West Development Agency's claim
that it's, "Grim down south", Chief Executive
of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), Anthony
Dunnett said: "I am disappointed about this "tongue
in cheek" campaign, especially when all the regions are
working so hard to promote the UK as the premier location for
business to grow and prosper. We should be focusing our efforts
on helping grow our own businesses, build on our strengths to
attract the best international companies to invest here and when
established to increase their market share."
He added: "Our real competition is in Europe and the rest
of the world. By singling out one of our own regions for comparison
we are diluting the impact of our cumulative effort to sell the
UK as a globally competitive place to do business."
The response came as the North West Development Agency went on
record to say that their campaign was meant to be "tongue
in cheek" but that there was perhaps more to life than London.
Mr Dunnett continued: "Every region has its individual
strengths. But what we can all offer are excellent market opportunities
that will suit all manner of businesses and people. Some will
find the South East an attractive proposition, whereas others
will be drawn to one of the other eight English development regions.
The key point is that they choose the UK and make good use of
the highly professional assistance that all the Regional Development
Agencies (RDAs) can provide."
The particular strengths of the South East as a location for
business are its unique location as the gateway to the UK, advanced
telecommunications and pharmaceutical/biotech industries, history
of collaborate research with academia and scientific institutions
and easy access to the financial capital of the UK - to
name but a few. The North West also has its own unique selling
points, not to mention of course that it has recently proven itself
as an accomplished host to a major international event -
the Commonwealth Games. The South East is also top of the regions'
league table for having the most areas of outstanding natural
beauty (AONB).
Mr Dunnett concluded: "All regions should concentrate on
building their globally competitive business base and celebrate
their strengths. The UK is the best location in Europe from which
to trade internationally. The figures prove it. The RDAs have
a key role in promoting both competitiveness and UK businesses
abroad.
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