United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy Programme

The United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy programme is a network of parliamentarians integral to supporting the government’s growth mission for growth by providing additional international trade and investment support to ministers.

There are 31 Trade Envoys covering 78 markets across 6 continents who engage on substantial trade opportunities identified by government.

They will play a crucial role in supporting the Department for Business and Trade’s growth priorities, in particular through helping deliver the industrial and trade strategies and attracting foreign direct investment to every region in the UK. They complement the work of our Ambassadors, High Commissioners and His Majesty’s Trade Commissioners in their respective markets by:

  • engaging with their host governments
  • leading trade delegations
  • hosting inward delegations
  • meeting businesses in the UK
  • in market and lobbying on market access issues

They do this by building relationships in market and working with UK businesses. 

The programme has been running since 2012 and was previously called the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy programme, but this was re-named in 2025. The new title creates commonality between government Envoy roles and reflects the Envoys’ duties in representing the whole United Kingdom.

Membership of the programme is cross party from both the House of Commons and House of Lords. The role is voluntary and unpaid.   

The Secretary of State has appointed the following Trade Envoys:

Trade Envoy name and title Assigned country or region
Afzal Khan MP Türkiye
Alex Sobel MP Ukraine
Baroness Jane Ramsey Ethiopia
Baroness Rosie Winterton Bangladesh
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP Ghana
Ben Coleman MP Kingdom of Morocco and Francophone West Africa
Calvin Bailey MP Southern Africa
Carolyn Harris MP New Zealand
Dan Carden MP Mexico
David Pinto-Duschinsky MP Switzerland and Liechtenstein
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP South Africa and Mauritius
Fabian Hamilton MP Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay
Florence Eshalomi MP Nigeria
George Freeman MP Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Brunei
Jess Morden MP Central America
Kate Osamor MP East Africa
Lord Iain McNicol Jordan, Kuwait and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Lord Ian Austin Israel
Lord John Alderdice Azerbaijan and Central Asia
Lord John Hannett Sri Lanka
Lord John Spellar Australia
Lord Richard Faulkner Taiwan
Lord Roger Liddle Andean
Lord Tom Watson Republic of Korea
Matt Western MP Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos
Mohammad Yasin MP Pakistan
Naz Shah MP Indonesia and ASEAN
Paulette Hamilton MP Commonwealth Caribbean
Sarah Olney MP North Africa
Sharon Hodgson MP Japan
Yasmin Qureshi MP Egypt

You can contact us by emailing uktradeenvoys@businessandtrade.gov.uk.