Chancellor chairs inaugural International Business Advisory Council meeting

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown MP, today hosted the first meeting of IBAC, the International Business Advisory Council for the UK, to consider how the UK and other countries can benefit from the challenges and opportunities of increasing globalisation.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting in London, Gordon Brown said:

“I am delighted to be hosting the inaugural meeting of Britain’s International Business Advisory Council and to be following this with a summit meeting with the leading figures in British business. We will be discussing how business and government can work together to make the case for globalisation and how to make globalisation work better.”

The Treasury announced in Budget 2006 that the Government had established International Business Advisory Council for the UK comprising some of the world’s leading business people.

The Government is committed to working closely with and listening to business leaders, to ensure the UK has the flexible and supportive environment it needs to attract business investment in a global environment.

The members of the Council are renowned internationally for their expertise and have first-hand experience of global business across a range of sectors and regions.

After the IBAC meeting the Chancellor will be hosting a major Business Advisory Summit for the chairs and CEOs from many of the UK's top businesses.

Notes to editors

1. Attendees at the first meeting of IBAC included:

Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO, LVMH
Dr Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline
Sir Ka-Shing Li, Chairman of the Board, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd
Sir John Rose, CEO, Rolls Royce
Robert Rubin, Director and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Citigroup Inc
Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Group
Meg Whitman, President and CEO, eBay
James Wolfensohn, Chairman, Wolfensohn and Company.

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