More than 200 jobs have been promised for Derry due to representations made in the US by the Derry Investment Initiative.

The group lobbies for inward investment, promoting Derry as a gateway to Europe, to North American and other non-European firms.

Speaking at the close of the University of Ulster three-day conference on Economies Emerging from the Conflict, Dr Barney Toal, the initiative's director of operations, declined to specify exactly who would be providing the jobs, but said he was confident that the announcement of the new jobs, a result of representations made recently in North America, could be made shortly.

Dr Toal said a new export trade mission to Arizona in the USA would be made in October involving local information technology companies. As well as establishing trade links for those companies, the mission would also be emphasising the attractions of Derry as a gateway to Europe.