EMPEY WELCOMES SUPPORT FOR INVEST NI

TRADE Minister Sir Reg Empey met members of Business Alliance which is an umbrella group for the main business bodies in Northern Ireland to update them on progress towards setting up the new single economic development agency Invest Northern Ireland.

The Minister said: "I am greatly encouraged by the degree of support which I have received from the Business Alliance for the setting up of Invest Northern Ireland (INI). Indeed this support will be crucial as the creation of INI is a major structural change which will lead to improved service delivery for business.”

During discussions the Minister took the opportunity to review developments so far, to outline the legislative timetable and to discuss key issues that need to be addressed before INI is fully established.

The Industrial Development Bill was introduced to the Assembly on 25 June 2001 and the second stage was completed two days ago, on 3 July. The Bill now passes to Committee Stage when the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee will consult publicly on the Draft Bill. Business Alliance will then have the opportunity to analyse and comment on it in detail over the coming months. The policy framework for Invest Northern Ireland will be set by Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and its direction will broadly follow post-Strategy 2010 thinking.

Sir Reg said that a key challenge in establishing INI would be to ensure that the ethos of innovation imbues the whole structure and that this links with the more general challenge of seeing innovation embraced more effectively by Northern Ireland business.

He said: "The business world is changing more and more rapidly and the demands on all service providers are increasing. Invest Northern Ireland will face many challenges. Northern Ireland is very much a small firms economy and INI will have to respond to the particular challenges of helping Small and Medium Enterprises to win a greater share of international business in markets that are increasingly more competitive and more globally focused.”

The Minister concluded that although successfully addressing these issues will require a massive and well-directed effort from both INI and the business community, success would result in powerful economic benefits and increased wealth-creation in the economy.

(AMcE)