NI 'Iraq Invasion' Underway

Local firms are looking to new markets for business and Iraq is among new areas being promoted to local companies.

They are on Invest Northern Ireland's new Market Visits programme for 2010-11.

The exporters will be able to explore opportunities in Kurdistan for the first time in a programme which features over 70 trade missions and exhibition stands in global markets.

Iraq is among 15 events being planned in the Middle East by Invest NI. Other markets targeted again in this important region are the Saudi Arabian centres of Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Oman.

First time multi-sectoral trade missions to Brazil, Estonia and Latvia and Vietnam are also scheduled along with visits to established markets of China, India, the US, South East Asia, Scandinavia and Russia.

Another important feature of the programme is a focus on 'green' technology events such as EcoBuild, London, the Energiesparmesse Exhibition in Wels, Austria, All Energy in Aberdeen, Husum Wind Show, Husum, Germany, and Renewable Energy World in Amsterdam.

Companies in Information Technology and Communications will also be able to display their expertise and keep abreast of market trends at events such as the Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Technology World, Coventry, SxSW Digital Content, Austin, Texas, the Microsoft Worldwide Partnership Conference, Washington DC, and the Apple Worldwide Developers’ Conference, San Francisco.

Other major events are scheduled for companies in sectors such as life sciences, food and construction, such as; ConnectedHealth, Arab Health, Food & Drink Expo, Gulf Food & Sial.

Details of the new programme were announced by Dr Vicky Kell, Invest NI Trade Director.

Dr Kell said: "The Market Visits Programme has been developed to encourage as many companies as possible in manufacturing and tradable services to exploit opportunities now developing worldwide, and is one of the most comprehensive and far reaching Programmes we have published.

"We've decided to take an exploratory mission to Kurdistan because it's a stable and largely self-contained region within Iraq.

"The regional government is now focusing its energies on economic development and has extensive oil and gas resources, revenues from which are increasingly being invested in infrastructural improvements within a massive reconstruction programme," he adds, noting that other British firms are already active in a range of sectors, such as power, water, health, telecommunications, construction and education.

(BMcC/GK)