A NEW US-Northern Ireland working group established by the US economic envoy to the North will strongly focus on promoting new inward investment opportunities, according to the North’s Minister for Enterprise.
Arlene Foster said 40 business leaders from Northern Ireland and the US have been brought together by Declan Kelly to explore and develop business opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Northern Ireland members of the group include Dr Allen McClay, founder and chairman of Almac, and representatives from existing key inward investors including Bombardier Aerospace.
The American contingent includes heavy hitters such as Bill Mills, chief executive and chairman of Citigroup’s corporate and investment banking in Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Robert J McCann, a former vice-chairman of Merrill Lynch and president of the firm’s global wealth management division.
Ms Foster and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton led a roundtable discussion with the new working group during Mrs Clinton’s visit to Belfast yesterday.
One of the participants, Joanne Stuart, chairwoman of the North’s Institute of Directors, said there was a wealth of talent involved in the new group who were determined to “do more than just talk”.
Dr McClay, who also took part in the group’s discussion at Queen’s University, said his own company, Almac, was just one example of a Northern Ireland business that was actively investing in the US.
“We are in the process of investing $120 million in the States, where we will employ 1,000 people, and I don’t think this process is one-way,” he said.
