Eighteen Northern Ireland companies are in Sweden this week on the third leg of an IDB trade mission which also took in a visit to Finland and, for nine of the firms, a three-day stopover in the Estonian capital, Tallinn.

This was the first IDB trade mission to the Baltic state, and the nine companies taking part covered a range of businesses from the manufacture of scientific instruments to the production of clothing accessories.

Mission manager Paul Rutherford said the decision to include Estonia had been taken because it had a healthy GDP growth rate of around 5 per cent last year, and was keen to develop trade and investment contacts with the UK and other parts of Europe.

"Many Northern Ireland companies have strong business links with Scandinavia," Mr Rutherford said.

"And several of them told us that they would be keen to build on these by exploring opportunities in the neighbouring Baltic region.

"Estonia was a logical choice because it was the first of the Baltic states to be accepted as a candidate for membership of an enlarged European Union," he added.

Among the companies taking part in the Estonian leg of the trip were the Belfast manufacturer of specialist scientific instruments, Andor Technology, Capemist Gloves of Ballymena, which makes knitted gloves, hats, and scarves, and Munster Simms Engineering, manufacturers of manual and electric pumps.