Consul-General Peter Marshall and members of the British-American Business Group will be meeting at Croakies Bar and Grill, 5488 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, in Dunwoody Thursday, May 1, at 5 p.m., for live television coverage via satellite of the British general election. The public is invited to join the event which will feature a selection of traditional British Pub
While the event is expected to be spirited, Mr. Marshall told GlobalFax in an interview that he would remain neutral. Speaking in his offices at the British Consulate-General in the Marriott Marquis Towers, he said that whoever wins, British policy to promote trade with and investment in the U.K. will remain unchanged.
He added that he would pursue Southeastern companies to invest in the U.K. on grounds that by doing so both Britain and this region of the U.S. would benefit. “Foreign investment can be controversial,” he added, “but we have found that companies which have invested in the U.K. increase their exports overall, and are not just exporting jobs.”
In addition to promoting “inward investment” Mr. Marshall said he planned to travel throughout the region including seven southeastern states fulfilling the diplomatic side of his assignment.
He arrived in Atlanta in January after serving more than three years in Algeria during which time he and his family lived under strict security measures.
While in Algeria he applied for the post in Atlanta, a decision he made based on the success of his previous stay in California from 1974-1979. Comparing what he termed Atlanta’s “enterprise economy” to that of Silicon Valley in the 1970s, he said he hoped that he would be as successful now in influencing companies to invest in the U.K. as he had been in his earlier U.S. post.
At that time, he said, he was able to influence several companies to invest in the U.K. including Hewlett-Packard which established facilities in the western England and Scotland.
For more information about the evening at Croakies call (770) 394-4164.