Indicated by: Debashis Sarkar
Last updated: June 24, 2023, 2:03 PM IST
London, United Kingdom (UK)
“In my view, we want to digitize everything and government services must be seamlessly connected. They would need to be extremely cost-effective to work for the consumer, as well as for the government itself,” said Dominic Johnson, the UK’s Secretary of Commerce and Commerce. (Image: Debashis Sarkar/News18)
Minister Dominic Johnson said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has a very “clear vision” of making Britain a science and technology superpower by 2030.
The United Kingdom is committed to promoting itself as the great tech capital of the world and wants to attract top tech talent from all over the world to do so. But what about visas? Is the UK considering simplifying the process of issuing visas to people who want to move to the UK for business, education or work?
On the sidelines of London Tech Week, Dominic Johnsonspoke to the UK’s Secretary of Commerce and Commerce in an interaction with Debashis Sarkar, Editor, News18 Tech about how the UK needs to further improve its visa process.
“As far as I’m concerned, we want to digitize everything and government services must be seamlessly connected. They have to be extremely cost effective to work for the consumer, but also for the government itself. And we need a free flow of people from all over the world with the intellectual capital to support our science and technology aspirations. So the short answer is yes, improvements can and should be made,” said Johnson.
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“We are introducing e-visas in certain countries. So if you look at the Middle East countries, I hope that between February and March next year we will have a very simple E-visa gate system that will make travel much easier. And I know that in the free trade negotiations, the principle around trying to bring the best talent from India to the UK to make their businesses a success is at the forefront of the discussions,” he stressed.
Johnson said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has a very “clear vision” of making Britain a science and technology superpower by 2030. While the Sunak government presents itself as an attractive destination for talented people in the field of artificial intelligence, the UK also recognizes the importance of investing in its own citizens to broaden its local STEM talent pool.
“…it is through intellectual capital that we as a nation will survive in the future. So, rather than necessarily chasing the old professions, it is important that we educate our population to be able to contribute usefully to the new ones and that gives us strength, wealth and security,” Johnson said
“The Prime Minister is absolutely right that it is a race and is determined to ensure we have the expertise trained in the UK and in doing so we are putting a lot of money into university research. I personally work on a number of projects to ensure there is funding for university spin-outs. So there are great ideas that can be taken and cashed in, commercialized and at the same time we are very aware of the need for Global Talent Britain,” he added.
