UK and US companies need to work together says BABC president
Steve Allen, the Birmingham lawyer who is President of the British American Business Council (BABC) told delegates at the opening reception to the three day BABC conference, held in Birmingham Cathedral, that businesses faced an ‘uncertain terrain’ and that they need to ‘work together’ to face up to the challenges that are common to all.
Allen said that one of the prime objectives of the BABC conference was to ‘bring important conversations together. Allen said: ” They include how we move forward against the background of uncertain terrain of trade tariffs, the challenges that will be brought and how we work together to face other potential threats – or opportunities – such as those presented by digital trade, cyber relations, design-driven innovation and more.”
Allen went on to tell delegates that Birmingham was “powered by youth, ambition and an unrelenting sense of innovation and purpose. We are proud of our diverse and multi-cultural city, a city that is breaking through from being a national centre of industry to a global city known for its revolutionising a range of sectors from advances in manufacturing to gaming and creative to energy and tech and healthcare.”
Allen told the 300 delegates that in Birmingham ” we are creating places for the future – look to any corner of the city and there are cranes in the sky, with large-scale projects such as the £700m mixed use Paradise development now coming to fruition and a true indicator of investor confidence. We are also building on our already unrivalled connectivity and shrining the gap between Birmingham and London to just 45 minutest through the arrival of the HS2 rail network.”
Allen told the delegates that with the establishment of the West Midlands Combined Authority, work is underway to build 215,000 more homes and 500,000 more jobs by 2030.
Allen reminded delegates that Birmingham is now ‘recognised by both the New York Times and the Boston Globe as one of the most exciting cities to visit in Europe.”
