Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether a (a) Minister and (b) delegation from his Department will attend the Commonwealth Trade and Investment Forum in September 2023.

We are still awaiting a formal invitation for Ministerial attendance. However, on current plans officials from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) will attend the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) Summit in Bangladesh.

The FCDO and DBT continue to work closely with CWEIC to further strengthen intra-Commonwealth trade and investment - particularly following the Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting in June, where members agreed ambitious objectives to boost support for trade digitalisation and inward investment ahead of CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) in 2024 in Samoa.