UK investors look for new partnerships with Honduras
Representatives of Brennan & Partners, a British consultancy and investment firm, visited Honduras from 19 to 21 November.
Delegation met with President of Congress / Delegación se reunió con el Presidente del Congreso
The Founder and CEO of Brennan & Partners, The Hon. Alexander Brennan and its Chairman, Lord Brennan QC led the mission. They were joined in Tegucigalpa by the British Ambassador to Honduras, Thomas Carter.
This was the most senior British trade mission in many years to visit Honduras. The mission explored opportunities in a variety of sectors, including security services, banking, infrastructure, conventional and renewable energy, tourism, housing, and agriculture.
The purpose of the trade mission was to look for opportunities to increase British exports to and investments in Honduras, and to get a better understanding of the Honduran marketplace. The trade mission had meetings with various government ministers, with CoAlianza, and with representatives of the Central Bank. Lord Brennan, who is a British parliamentarian with a seat in the House of Lords, also met the President of Congress, Mauricio Oliva.
The visitors also discussed the mutual experience in both Honduras and the UK of using Public Private Partnerships as vehicles for funding large infrastructure projects, and looked for ways to extend collaboration in that field. They also stressed the importance of improvements in the business environment in order to attract British investors, including political stability, a strong and fully independent judicial system, the commitment to tackle corruption, and improvements in human rights.
The visit took place less than a month after the Director for Latin America at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Nigel Baker, travelled to Honduras to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to strengthening the economic relationship between the two countries. This has become particularly relevant in the light of the UK’s departure from the European Union (Brexit), in March 2019.
The British Ambassador to Honduras, Tom Carter, said:
It is great to see British companies showing an increased interest in the Honduran market. I am convinced that there are major opportunities here, and improvements to the business environment will make Honduras an increasingly attractive destination for trade and investment from the UK. We have also seen a surge in the number of Honduran companies exporting to the UK.