PETER ROBINSON and Martin McGuinness are visiting Washington and New York to build on the pitch for inward investment made at the US/Northern Ireland investment conference in May.
The First Minister and Deputy First Minister are to attend a business conference to follow up initiatives begun before the Executive became mired in a five-month stand-off over policy.
The international financial climate has worsened considerably since then, but the leaders hope sterling’s fall against the US dollar could help their case for investment in Northern Ireland.
They are keen to stress that, with the Executive now meeting weekly to clear the large backlog of work which has accumulated since June, the Northern economy is a central policy theme. During their four-day visit they will attend the Fortune 500 dinner in the US capital today before travelling to New York to meet mayor Michael Bloomberg and city comptroller William C Thompson jnr.
Mr Robinson said: “This is a very important week for Northern Ireland; over the next few days the Deputy First Minister and I will be meeting with the higher echelons of corporate America. We will be delivering the message that despite the global economic downturn, that Northern Ireland remains very much open for business. This trip forms part of our overall objective of ensuring that the damage caused to Northern Ireland by the current economic crisis is kept to a minimum.”
It has already been announced that four New York city pension funds are to invest a total of $150 million (€118.25 million) in the Emerald Infrastructure Development Fund in Northern Ireland.
Mr McGuinness said: “This visit to the US allows us to build on the many relationships and friendships that were established during that conference, and establish new opportunities with the leading 500 American companies. The economy remains at the centre of the Executive’s programme,” he said, “and one of the main reasons we are here this week is to remind American companies that we can provide an excellent opportunity for those who want to access the EU market.”