Interview: British Ambassador George Hodgson Seeks To Strengthen Business, Cultural Ties Between UK & Colombia

Ambassador George Hodgson represents the British Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia which works to strengthen bilateral relations, promote trade and investment, and foster cultural and educational exchange between Great Britain and Colombia. This year marks the 200th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Finance Colombia’s executive editor Loren Moss recently met with Ambassador Hodgson, the United Kingdom’s envoy to Colombia, during a visit to Medellín one sunny November morning, where the city hosted a British pavilion celebrating cultural ties between the two countries. Ambassador Hodgson discussed the historic ties between the UK and Colombia, the evolving business landscape, and opportunities for Colombian students and companies in the UK.

And so through this roadshow, we want to show that we’re interested in Medellín. We’re interested in the relationship with ‘los paisas,’ and we’ve got a lot to offer each other.

Finance Colombia: So I’m here with Ambassador George Hodgson, the ambassador from the UK and Northern Ireland here in Colombia. First, welcome to Medellín. It looks like we’ve got a nice sunny morning.

George Hodgson: Another beautiful day in Medellín, yeah. Great to see you here.

Finance Colombia: Fortunately. You know, it’s too bad that all the embassies and consulates are in Bogotá, because the weather here is a lot better.

British exhibit in Medellín’s Parque del Rio (photo © Loren Moss)

George Hodgson: But that’s precisely why we’re here, because we’re based in Bogotá, but we’re the British embassy in Colombia. And so through this roadshow, we want to show that we’re interested in Medellín. We’re interested in the relationship with ‘los paisas,’ and we’ve got a lot to offer each other.

Finance Colombia: That’s great. And we’re here celebrating…this is, I think, the 200th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship, the bilateral relationship between Great Britain and Colombia. So maybe if you tell me a little bit about the history and what’s gotten us here today.

George Hodgson: So we’re celebrating 200 years of friendship and alliance between our two countries. Obviously, we have a history before that. The UK and Brits played an important role fighting alongside Simón Bolívar for the independence of this country and its neighbors. And through those 200 years, it’s been really positive. And now we have a really thick relationship in lots of different areas. We’re working together on peace and security, on environmental issues, recognizing how important Colombia is in terms of its biodiversity and its forests, things like that. We’re working together a lot in the business space. The UK is one of the top investors in Colombia, and we’ve got a trade relationship of something like $2.5 billion per year. And then, of course, English education and culture is a really important part of what we’re promoting here, too.

The UK is one of the top investors in Colombia, and we’ve got a trade relationship of something like $2.5 billion per year.

Finance Colombia: Absolutely. English is the second language in Colombia. You get into the metro system and the airports anywhere; you see English. But it’s like that globally. I remember going for the first time to Central Asia, and I thought I was going to need a translator. And I didn’t, because everybody spoke English and everything was in English.

Speaking of that, the cultural ties are very strong, I mean, the whole world listens to British music and has done so forever. But there’s a lot of things, like you guys have a scholarship program similar to—I’m most familiar being from the US—the Fulbright Scholarship program. But you all have something that’s even more comprehensive. And I think you have something like 50 or 20 spots, rather, reserved for bright Colombian students. Maybe if you could speak to that.

George Hodgson: That’s right, Loren. So one of the activities that we’ve got today is showcasing the opportunities that British universities offer Colombians. And one of the ways that Colombians can make the most of UK universities is through the Chevening Scholarship. So every year, we’re selecting something like 15 to 20 Colombians. Obviously, Colombians with a great academic record. Obviously, also with a good level of English to study in the UK. But most of all, Colombians with a sense of how studying in the UK is going to help them do something really important for this country, and important for the relationship between our two countries when they come back here.

Finance Colombia: Now, a lot of major British companies are investing and have invested here in Colombia. I mean, we talk about infrastructure and engineering, we talk about financial services. Maybe could you speak to some of the success stories that British companies have had helping Colombia to develop its economy and infrastructure?

George Hodgson: Yeah. So infrastructure, clearly, is a really important thing for Colombia. Colombia needs to build out its rail system again. Colombia needs to improve the capacity of its airports. It needs bigger ports. And in all of these areas and many more, things like entertainment venues, the UK has really world-class experience and expertise to share. And that’s one of the things that we’re focused on at the British Embassy; helping to bring together that British expertise with local know-how as well. And also making the most of financing opportunities. We have UK Export Finance, which is a way of bringing competitive financing to projects where there’s sufficient UK content involved.

Finance Colombia: That goes back to the UK’s history as the world’s banker. Going back hundreds of years. Now, also, we see Colombian companies that are taking advantage of the favorable investment and taxation conditions in the UK I mean, Avianca, when they reincorporated Colombia’s largest flag carrier, is now actually a British company.

George Hodgson: Yeah, so the UK is a really attractive place through which to internationalize your operations, right? Whether you’re a big company like Avianca, but we’ve had other recent decisions to domicile in the UK A huge company called Elite Flower, perhaps the world’s biggest cut flower company, domiciling in the UK

But also for smaller companies, right? You know, thinking about things like tech startups, looking to expand internationally. The UK is a great place to do that from a number of different points of view. So access to financing, access to other markets, access to talent. And all of these things mean that more and more Colombian companies are looking at the UK as a way of reaching the British market, a European market, but also Africa, Asia, the Middle East.

Finance Colombia: I was going to say, London has such strong historic ties with places. You know, they say the EMEA region, you know, Europe, Africa, the Middle East. I mean, a lot of the companies that come down here and do industry trade events that we attend are based in the UK. Vostock Capital, for example, that does a lot of the mining and energy events, that’s a British company. We always participate with them. GFC Media, that does the financial events, that’s a London-based company as well.

What is kind of the “secret sauce” that helps London or helps the UK more broadly to maintain that leadership position globally? No matter the [political] environment which seems to change every 20 years. We have a new…you know, there was the Cold War. I’m old enough to remember the Cold War. And we’re going into a time now where a lot of the multilateral institutions are sort of under attack. But the UK has been able to really kind of be steady through that and maintain its relationships. What’s kind of the key as a diplomat? And then what is the key to the UK’s success in that respect?

George Hodgson: So I think openness. You know, we want talented Colombians. We want ambitious Colombian companies and companies from all over the world to come to the UK And that means that we’ve got this huge talent pool of ambitious, creative, go-getting people from around the world. And we want to keep that going. I think the connections point is really important because from the UK you’re really well-connected physically, but also culturally with all sorts of different parts of the world. And then finance is really important to any business, right? And London is one of the most, alongside New York, the most important financial center in the world. And so that means you’ve got access to financial opportunities, to capital. That is absolutely important in growing a business.

Finance Colombia: For investors, for executives that want to investigate further the commercial and investment opportunities in the UK, is there a site or an agency or a ministry or what are the first steps that an interested company or individual should take?

George Hodgson: Absolutely. So the British Embassy is here to help, is the basic message. We’ve got a fantastic team. We’ve got people here in Medellin, but we’ve got people in Bogotá as well. We’ve got specialists in how to use the UK to internationalize your business. And so get in touch with us at the embassy through our social media, our website. We’ve got contact information on there. And then we can guide you. We can signpost you as you need.

Finance Colombia: Great. Well, George, great talking to you.

George Hodgson: Thanks very much.

British exhibit in Medellín’s Parque del Rio (photo © Loren Moss)