IBDE

International Business and Diplomatic Exchange (IBDE) is a London-based non-profit organisation committed to facilitating dialogue and resource-sharing between the global business and diplomatic communities - to their mutual advantage.

IBDE provides assistance with promoting international trade and investment flows to create new business opportunities, support wealth creation, public private partnerships, good governance and corporate social responsibility, as well as the integration of developing countries into the global market. Through selected events such as investment forums, round-tables, workshops and networking opportunities, IBDE aims to support international businesses in identifying key investment opportunities and strategies within the international economic and political context in the UK and countries represented in London. IBDE provides an independent, accessible platform for debate on the international business and political issues impacting global markets.

In today’s increasingly interconnected global economy a principal aim for most diplomatic missions is to champion economic development and trade relations: foreign services, governments and businesses need each other’s special expertise to be effective in the global market place. On the one hand, diplomats must master the working of the business world in order to become fine 'Business Diplomats' and on the other, global companies must acquire diplomatic expertise to be able to forecast and plan for international crisis so as to adjust their trading activities when they occur. They also need to know how to operate appropriately within diverse cultural and societal environments with an adequate knowledge of international politics to underpin their competence in international business.

IBDE makes a practical contribution to meeting these challenges. It offers consultative forums as a rapid response to diplomatic and business needs, facilitating cross-fertilisation of ideas between businesspeople, diplomats, politicians, academics and representatives of NGOs, ensuring that expertise is diffused across professional boundaries. This open dialogue between diplomacy and business eventually will lead to proper and transparent business input on national economic and trade policy making. More specifically, IBDE, as an organization designed to bring business and diplomacy around the same table, will offer an opportunity for the developing nations to co-operate beyond their current sphere of influence within a neutral civil forum. The Organisation's concept reflects the thinking embodied in the expanded G20 as it addresses the needs of growing economies, enhancing the dialogue for those voices that have yet to be heard.

DIPLOMACY AND COMMERCE have travelled the same routes for centuries, and in the era of globalisation there is much still to be gained through this close association. Diplomacy opens channels of communication, paving the way for transparent as well as profitable foreign investment. Whether in the form of a treaty or a contract, established norms of international law are the foundation stones for business and diplomatic relations.