Declan Kelly, the U.S. economic envoy to Northern Ireland, will use the increased Irish awareness during the month of March to kick off a series of events aimed at promoting greater investment in the region.
On March 12 Kelly will be in Belfast to deliver the annual keynote address to the members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the North’s business community at the annual Northern Ireland Assembly and Business Trust Dinner.
The remarks are expected to focus on how Northern Ireland and U.S. will work together to build on the economic agenda following the recent progress that has been made on policing and justice.
Kelly will return to Chicago on March 15, where he will host Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at a meeting with a number of Fortune 500 companies. Kelly, Robinson and McGuinness will pitch Northern Ireland to an assembled crowd of 200 business leaders at an event co-hosted by Invest Northern Ireland.
On March 16 in Washington, D.C., Kelly will host a Northern Ireland business briefing with Robinson, McGuinness and the North’s Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster.
The meeting is designed to discuss growth and investment opportunities in Northern Ireland. Attendees will include business leaders from the U.S. and Northern Ireland, many of whom are members of the bi-lateral working group Kelly established in September.
Later on the 16th, Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland pharmaceutical company Almac, Invest Northern Ireland and Kelly will jointly host an event showcasing the work going on in Northern Ireland in the life sciences and personalized medicine fields. The event is titled, “From Science to Society: A Northern Ireland Showcase in Cancer Genomics and Personalized Medicine.”
On the evening of the 16th, the American Ireland Fund will host its annual St. Patrick’s dinner in Washington, D.C. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is this year’s guest of honor. Robinson, McGuinness, Foster and Kelly will all be in attendance.
On St. Patrick’s morning, Robinson and McGuinness will meet with President Obama, Clinton and Kelly.
March 17: Washington DC. The Northern leaders will also attend a special breakfast briefing hosted by the Northern Ireland Bureau in D.C.
In the afternoon, Robinson, McGuinness and Kelly will be among the guests at the annual speaker’s luncheon hosted by Nancy Pelosi on Capitol Hill.
On March 18, part of the Northern Irish delegation will travel to New York with Kelly to meet with more U.S. corporations to discuss the benefits of Northern Ireland as an investment location.
During the week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, over 15 Northern Irish-based companies will travel to
Washington, D.C. on a strategic trade mission. Executives from these companies will be attending the events in the nation’s capital, and will also be meeting with targeted U.S. executives and companies in order to help build their business profile and develop commercial relationships in the U.S.
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