UK Trade Envoy for Sri Lanka, Lord Davies of Abersoch has arrived in Colombo for a three-day visit, the British High Commission in Sri Lanka said. 

He will meet a range of business and government stakeholders with a view to expand trade opportunities and support the mutual growth of the UK-SL economic partnership, it said.

The British former banker and former Labour government minister was appointed as the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Sri Lanka by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in October 2020.

Lord Davies is Chairman of Corsair, where he serves as a member of the Investment Committee, having joined the company in 2010. He is also Chairman of LetterOne and Intermediate Capital Group. 

He was UK Minister for Trade, Investment and Small Business from January 2009 until May 2010, a joint role between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with responsibility for Infrastructure UK. 

Prior to this appointment, he was Chairman of Standard Chartered PLC. He joined the Board of Standard Chartered PLC in 1997 and was Group Chief Executive from 2001 until 2006.

He was awarded a CBE for his services to the financial sector and the community in Hong Kong in 2002 where he served as a member of the HK Exchange fund for seven years.  Lord Davies is also an Honorary Distinguished Professor at Cardiff Business School.