'No Better Place' Than Fermanagh For G8

Tourism Minister Arlene Foster has said UK Prime Minister David Cameron could have chosen no better place to host the G8 summit than Fermanagh.

The Minister was speaking as she officially opened the Pre-G8 conference at South West College today.

"This is a very timely and welcome initiative in that it is taking place on the cusp of Fermanagh hosting some of the world’s most powerful leaders at the forthcoming G8 Summit," she said.

"When he announced that Fermanagh was to host the Summit, David Cameron said he wanted to show the world that Northern Ireland was 'a great place for business, a great place for investment, a place with an incredibly educated and trained workforce that was ready to work for international business'. Of course I couldn't agree more and it is a message I take with me when I lead Invest NI trade missions in key international markets, most recently to Brazil."

The Pre-G8 conference was organised by South West College in association with Omagh Enterprise Company Ltd.

Themes for discussion included innovation, entrepreneurship, skills development and internationalisation.

"When the world leaders come to Fermanagh in the next week or so, they will discuss major global issues such as trade, tax and transparency," Minister Foster said.

"This pre-G8 event presents the ideal opportunity to galvanise and promote positive regional thinking with a focus on international and economic development.

"By looking at how we can play to our existing strengths while at the same time encouraging increased entrepreneurship and export-focused growth, we can position Northern Ireland as an even more attractive business proposition for investors."

The Minister also announced a £718,000 funding package for Enniskillen town centre on behalf of the Department of Social Development (DSD), bringing the total DSD investment in the town to more than £1.2m in eight months.

(IT/MH)