Northern Ireland News - US alliance will boost R&D in Ireland

19 January 2005

US alliance will boost R&D in Ireland

Economy Minister, Barry Gardiner, today unveiled details of a groundbreaking partnership between the United States (US) and both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, to collaborate in key Research & Development (R&D) projects.

The partnership agreement is the outcome of discussions following the US-Ireland business summit, that took place in Washington, DC, in 2002. A Task Force was established to explore high level, world-class research collaborations between centres of excellence in Ireland, north and south, and the United States, in the broad areas of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Biotechnology.

Outlining the impact of the accord, Mr Gardiner said: "This strategic alliance will carry forward the government’s goal of transforming Northern Ireland into an innovation economy, by enabling researchers here to work more closely with their counterparts at major US and Irish research institutes, especially in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and the emerging areas of bio- and nanotechnology."

Describing the partnership as "an immensely important development for the knowledge base in Northern Ireland and indeed the whole island," Mr Gardiner added: "International partnerships, particularly in life sciences, are growing rapidly and it is essential that Northern Ireland should be part of a process that will bring enormous benefits to research and training programmes within our two universities, offering greater knowledge transfer opportunities for our leading scientists."

It is hoped the agreement will help to stimulate higher levels of innovation and accelerate both economic development and leading edge medical research.

(MB/SP)