Economy Minister Gordon Lyons today finished his three-day US trade and investment programme by addressing the NI Bureau St Patrick’s Day breakfast and attending a reception at the White House.
Commenting on the importance of his visit, Minister Lyons said:
“I have been proud to represent Northern Ireland this week and to feel the warm welcome from all in the US. With countries beginning to open up again, it is more important than ever to reassure the world that Northern Ireland is open for business.
“This has been a very worthwhile visit to create further opportunities for Northern Ireland export focussed businesses, build relationships and to highlight our strengths as an attractive place to invest, visit, study and relocate to.”
The US is Northern Ireland’s second largest export market, with exports totalling £938m from Oct 20-Sep 21.
The Minister continued:
“The export statistics speak for themselves and highlight the importance of Northern Ireland’s relationship with the US. My Department’s 10X Vision will strengthen this further and build on our exports, inward investment successes and support us to build back our economy stronger and better than ever.”
During the visit programme which took place in New York, Maryland and Washington DC, Minister Lyons met with existing investors as well as firms considering Northern Ireland as a potential location. He also met with the East Advisory Council and a number of influential business leaders and government officials in Washington and Maryland.
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