Series
Department of Trade and Industry: Export Promotion Directorate: Sub-Saharan Africa...
Catalogue reference: NK 103
What's it about?
NK 103
This series contains registered files created by the Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (XP6) branch of the Export Promotion Directorate. The files relate to the Tropical Africa Advisory Group (TAAG), the Export Forum, and the Committee on South...
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- NK 103
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Title (The name of the record)
- Department of Trade and Industry: Export Promotion Directorate: Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (XP6) and successors: Registered Files (ABU and SBS Series)
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Date (When the record was created)
- 1996-2001
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Description (What the record is about)
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This series contains registered files created by the Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (XP6) branch of the Export Promotion Directorate. The files relate to the Tropical Africa Advisory Group (TAAG), the Export Forum, and the Committee on South African Trade (COSAT) which was established out of the 'Opportunity South Africa Campaign'.
COSAT files primarily consist of meeting minutes, evidence of COSAT input into a draft Memorandum of Understanding / Declaration of Intent between the UK and South African Governments and documents referencing the award of defence contracts.
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Arrangement (Information about the filing sequence or logical order of the record)
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In former reference order by prefix and accession
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Former department reference (Former identifier given by the originating creator)
- ABU and SBS
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
- Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
- English
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Creator(s) (The creator of the record)
- Department of Trade and Industry, 1983-2007
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- 12 file(s)
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Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
- Open
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Immediate source of acquisition (When and where the record was acquired from)
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From 2026 Department for Business and Trade
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Custodial history (Describes where and how the record has been held from creation to transfer to The National Archives)
- These records were inherited by the Department for International Trade in 2016 and later transferred to the Department for Business and Trade in 2023
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Accruals (Indicates whether the archive expects to receive further records in future)
- Series is accruing
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Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
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The ABU and SBS prefix records were created by Branch XP6a of the Export Promotion Directorate and the Committee on South African Trade (COSAT).
The Export Promotion Directorate Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia branch (XP6) was established in 1996 as part of the Department of Trade and Industry. It was responsible for promoting UK businesses in various countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, developing trade initiatives and projects and developing bilateral trade relations.
COSAT was launched in 1995 out of the 'Opportunity South Africa Campaign'. It aimed to promote UK-South Africa trade relations in the post-apartheid era. COSAT was keen for trade promotion to be at the forefront of then Prime Minister Tony Blair's first official visit to South Africa in 1999 and lobbied hard on the agenda and substantive arrangements. This ultimately led to the proposal and drafting of a Memorandum of Understanding (later a Declaration of Intent) identifying areas of trade promotion and co-operation. The visit to South Africa later become controversial as Tony Blair's role in the awarding of South African defence contracts to BAE Systems was scrutinised after allegations that bribes had been paid to win the contracts.
XP6 transferred to British Trade International in 1999.
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C21205378/
Catalogue hierarchy
You are currently looking at the series: NK 103
Department of Trade and Industry: Export Promotion Directorate: Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (XP6) and successors: Registered Files (ABU and SBS Series)