18/03/2022

Economy Minister Finishes Three-Day US Visit

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has finished his three-day US trade and investment programme by addressing the NI Bureau St Patrick's Day breakfast and attending a reception at the White House.

Commenting on the importance of his visit, Minister Lyons said: "I have been proud to represent Northern Ireland this week and to feel the warm welcome from all in the US. With countries beginning to open up again, it is more important than ever to reassure the world that Northern Ireland is open for business.

"This has been a very worthwhile visit to create further opportunities for Northern Ireland export focussed businesses, build relationships and to highlight our strengths as an attractive place to invest, visit, study and relocate to."

The US is Northern Ireland's second largest export market, with exports totalling £938m from Oct 20-Sep 21.

The Minister continued: "The export statistics speak for themselves and highlight the importance of Northern Ireland's relationship with the US. My Department's 10X Vision will strengthen this further and build on our exports, inward investment successes and support us to build back our economy stronger and better than ever."

During the visit programme which took place in New York, Maryland and Washington DC, Minister Lyons met with existing investors as well as firms considering Northern Ireland as a potential location. He also met with the East Advisory Council and a number of influential business leaders and government officials in Washington and Maryland.

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

06 February 2024
Naomi Long Re-Elected As Justice Minister For Northern Ireland
Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has been re-elected as Justice Minister for Northern Ireland, following a cross community vote in the Assembly. Minister Long previously held the Justice portfolio from January 2020 to October 2022.
08 December 2022
PM Urged To Visit NI To Hear 'Full Spectrum Of Views' On Protocol
UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, should visit Northern Ireland as soon as possible in order to hear the full spectrum of views from political and business leaders on the Protocol, Alliance Deputy Leader Stephen Farry MP has said.
08 May 2015
Moneyreagh Firm Completes First Export Deal
Moneyreagh engineering design company Northern Innovation has completed its first export deal worth £200,000 supplying its borewell water extraction system to the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) based in Ikeja, Lagos in western Nigeria.
17 February 2022
Economy Minister Attends NI Day At Expo 2020
Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has attended Northern Ireland Day at Expo 2020 Dubai on the second day of his visit to the United Arab Emirates. Located in the Opportunity District of Expo 2020, under the UK's theme of "Innovating for a shared future", Northern Ireland Day is a celebration of the heritage, innovation, and culture of Northern Ireland.
24 May 2018
Jeremy Corbyn Makes First Official Visit To Northern Ireland
The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is making his first official visit to Northern Ireland today, 24 May. During a speech at Queen's University Belfast, Mr Corbyn said that Labour will not tolerate a hard-border in NI. "Labour will not support any Brexit deal that includes the return of a hard border to this island," he said.