The United Kingdom Government has confirmed the appointment of Helen Grant MP, a British-Nigerian, as a new trade envoy to Nigeria.
A statement on Thursday explained that UK Trade Envoys were appointed by the British Prime Minister and were expected to promote trade for UK businesses in selected high-growth and developing markets around the world.
They also support the activities of the UK’s Department of International Trade, it said.
The statement said Grant’s role would provide support to the UK Government’s trade and investment priorities in Nigeria through high-level engagement with Nigerian ministers, by leading trade delegations, engaging key businesses in the market and promoting bilateral trade.
According to the statement, Grant who was born in London to a British mother and a Nigerian father is a graduate of law from the University of Hull.
It added that the trade envoy had set up her own legal practice, specialising in family breakdown and domestic violence before becoming the first female Anglo-African Conservative Member of Parliament, when she was elected MP for Maidstone and The Weald in 2010, winning three consecutive elections since then.
Speaking on her appointment as the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Nigeria, Grant said, “I am absolutely delighted with my appointment as the Prime Minister’s UK Trade Envoy to Nigeria. Both countries are close to my heart, my father being Nigerian and my mother English.”
– Punch