Last week business delegates and political representatives from across Northern Ireland made the trip to Washington D.C. for the US St Patrick’s Day celebrations and to spread the word that Northern Ireland is open for business and ready for inward investment.

Speaking following a meeting with US President Joe Biden, First Minister Michelle O’Neill said:

“Our decision to travel to the U.S. at the earliest opportunity was to seek out investors and companies and showcase everything Northern Ireland has to offer.

“Both Emma and I have had a very positive experience, meeting business leaders from a wide range of sectors who were left with a clear understanding of why they should invest in the north.”

While deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said:

“Throughout our engagements this week, we have been promoting Northern Ireland as a great place to live, visit and invest in.

“We are a global leader in sectors such as cyber security, RegTech, FinTech, advanced manufacturing and health sciences with a young, skilled and dedicated workforce. I am confident those influential decision makers we have met with have been very impressed by what they have heard.”

Meanwhile, our keynote speaker for next week’s President’s Annual Lunch, the Minister for the Economy Conor Murphy, continued to champion business in the North West by promoting regional balance and bringing good jobs to the region.

The Minister also stressed the benefit of dual market access, which is particularly important for the North West. Ahead of his visit to the US the Minister said:

“This is an important visit to strengthen our economic links with the US. I will be highlighting what the north can offer to US investors, particularly in terms of dual market access. I will also be opening up opportunities for local companies to export to the US. Securing new inward investment and driving up exports will support my ambition to increase the productivity of our economy, generate quality jobs and stimulate regional growth.”

It is great to hear that the North West was championed in Washington last week, and we hope that the delegation’s visit will lead to further investment which will benefit our region in the near future.

If you would like to hear about the Minister’s trip to Washington, and how he plans to bring good jobs and regional balance to the North West, there are still a very limited number of tickets available for our President’s Annual Lunch. See here: TICKETS