Ministers Brief US President

The NI Assembly's First and Deputy First Ministers met US President George W Bush today as the final part of their week-long trip to America.

Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness urged Mr Bush to take part in a conference in Belfast next year aimed at attracting investment to bolster the new power-sharing arrangement. They also want the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown to attend the event.

Yesterday, the two men met congressmen and senators on Capitol Hill in Washington and have formally invited the US Department of Commerce to 'partner the Executive in building a new and vibrant economy'.

The First Minister said: “We have entered a new era where the focus is on building economic prosperity - taking all of the great assets of Northern Ireland and creating powerful new economic opportunity."

Speaking yesterday, he said: “We took that message onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, to the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, to Capitol Hill and we will take it with us to President Bush when we meet with him."

Ian Paisley issued an invitation to come and see the investment potential that exists: “I invite investors in the United States that Northern Ireland is well and truly open for business and that without exception, Ministers in the devolved Government are committed to building new partnerships with the private sector,” concluded the First Minister.

Martin McGuinness will told the gathering that the north of Ireland is one of the world’s “must see” destinations and that it is much more internationally connected that ever before.

“Only five years ago, there was only one direct scheduled international flight to Belfast. Today, it’s possible to fly to Belfast from around 30 international destinations including New York.

“We’ve become more successful in attracting foreign direct Investment with over six billion dollars worth having been secured since 1996.

"The US is our most important market. In the past five years alone, Invest Northern Ireland has attracted 51 inward investment projects from the United States.

“Many of these have come from the innovation-based sectors of internationally traded services, particularly business services, financial services and ICT and from companies of the calibre of Liberty Mutual. Allstate and Allen Systems and Citi,” continued the Deputy First Minister.

“For international investors, we have high-tech expertise, industrial ingenuity and a great lifestyle to offer making us one of the most attractive inward investment locations in Europe, particularly as a nearshore location from which to service large markets.

"We have world class Universities in Queens and the University of Ulster, excellent R & D support and a highly competitive cost environment," he continued.

“The Executive has ambitious plans to create 6,500 new jobs by 2011 with 600 companies becoming exporters for the first time in the same period.

"Over the next 10 years we plan to invest almost $40 billion dollars to ensure that we have the infrastructure needed to support further investment. In all of this we remain deeply appreciative of the help we have received from the United States.

“Our people have put their trust and confidence in us as an Executive to deliver a better future.

"We are determined not to let them down. We are determined to deliver economic prosperity, fairness and inclusion for all our people,” concluded Mr McGuinness.

(BMcC)