On Monday, February 8th, 2021, Andrew Staunton from the British Consulate spoke virtually to the Rotary Club of Sandy Springs. Mr. Staunton said, “Put simply, The British Consulate General in Atlanta maintains and develops relations between the UK and the USA.”

Mr. Staunton covered many aspects of his work. When Andrew described the current state of Brexit, he spoke about opportunities of alliances between our two economies and the challenges that lie ahead. Mr. Staunton understands how important a free trade agreement will be to bringing together the world’s largest and the world’s fifth largest economy. He notes that it could and should be the “gold-standard” especially in the areas of digital trade, intellectual property, and business mobility.

In photo: Andrew Staunton. Appointed in Atlanta as Her Majesty’s Consul General in June 2018.

Mr. Staunton described the United Kingdom approach to handling COVID-19. He noted that the UK is incredibly open therefore had a high percentage of cases, but also noted that they have already vaccinated over 12 million people in a first wave. The UK has also already procured enough vaccine of each person and has plans to distribute any excesses in an expedient manor.

Andrew spoke of some of most important goals that the UK is striving toward. Those include getting back into advanced manufacturing and life sciences, especially when it involves renewable energy, he stated. “Consumers are now demanding that we respect our planet more.”

The UK is a service-based economy, “About 80% of our GDP flows from services.”

Coat of Arms displayed, "God and my right" is the motto of the Monarch of the United Kingdom outside Scotland

Andrew is responsible for the South East region of the United States, which includes Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina & Tennessee, but somehow seems to miss Florida.

It must be included that Andrew is also a fellow Rotarian from the Atlanta Rotary Club.

The Rotary Club of Sandy Springs would like to thank Mr. Staunton for all that he does to maintain, grow and support our most precious common goals between the UK and the US.

If you want to know more about the British Consulate General for Atlanta, click here: https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-consulate-general-atlanta