Gloucester MP Richard Graham is helping to beef up British trade with the Far East.

Mr Graham is the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to the Philippines and has been visiting the country to help promote trading links.

A new export deal will soon see British beef on dinner plates and menus across the Philippines, worth £34 million to the UK economy.

Mr Graham has been highlighting UK strengths in food, education, infrastructure, technology and cyber security by helping Filipino firms use UK Export Finance to realize their own ambitions.

The MP said: "I am proud that British beef will soon be back on supermarket shelves across the Philippines. The UK beef industry applies world-leading welfare and quality standards and exports more than £350 million to markets around the world.

"British farmers have responded to global competition by going premium, relying on rain-fed pasture systems and nutrient-rich grass to offer the best Hereford and Aberdeen Angus beef on dining tables from Singapore to Toronto. I am confident that British beef will find plenty of fans in the Philippines as well."

In the Philippines Mr Graham met Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña of the Department of Science & Technology (DOST), representatives of the Department of Transportation (DOTR), and Mr. Ramon S. Ang, President of San Miguel Corporation, to discuss how the UK can continue supporting Philippine infrastructure development.

British firms like Arup, Mott MacDonald, and Atkins Acuity are already in the Philippines, working with government and business to build, build airports, roads, and ports.

Mr Graham said: "I believe there is room to do even more. In fact, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. is already working to build up Philippine capabilities in maritime surveillance and disaster monitoring through its NOVASAR satellite.

He was also looking forward to discovering the thriving technology sector in the Philippines. The UK technology industry is growing at twice the rate of the rest of the economy.

Mr Graham said: "I am pleased to note that the UK is the only country engaged in bilateral partnerships with the Philippines on transnational education. Recently concluded UK and Philippine University partnerships include plans for no less than 17 joint post graduate degrees in subjects from robotics to engineering to architecture. We see these achievements in transnational education as a model for future higher education partnerships between the UK and the Philippines."

UK Export Finance, the official export credit agency of the British government, has already doubled its maximum cover limit for the Philippines to £4.2 billion while also offering the lowest possible country rates for Philippine projects.

Mr Graham said this was a vote of UK Export Finance's confidence in the strength of the Philippine economy and opened up new opportunities for British and Filipino firms alike.

Louis Taylor, the Chief Executive of UK Export Finance, visited Manila just last week to witness the pace of Philippine development himself. In meetings with government representatives and captains of Philippine industry, Louis developed a keen sense of the opportunities available in Manila and across the country.

"As the Philippines continues to build onwards and upwards, I hope to see even more UK firms pitch in to help finance the future," said Mr Graham.

Pictured: MP Richard Graham during his recent visit to the Philippines.