Gordon and Brian: Ulster's sales team

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Premiers give US business the pitch on peace and cash

Friday, May 09, 2008

Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen joined forces yesterday to sell Northern Ireland to potential United States investors.

The political leaders of the UK and Ireland pledged to do all in their power to help bring prosperity and jobs to the province.

The two premiers travelled together to Stormont, where they were greeted by First Minister Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness along with Assembly Speaker William Hay.

And they both spoke in terms of it being a day of celebration — marking the first anniversary of the restoration of devolution.

For Mr Cowen it was his first full day in office as Taoiseach — and, as he said himself, his first major engagement.

But, as Mr McGuinness pointed out, Mr Brown was not yet Prime Minister when the Stormont institutions got up and running again 12 months ago.

Mr Brown also evoked the names of two senior figures noticeable by their absence, Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, and said he and Mr Cowen will make the same efforts as their predecessors to move things forward in the next year.

Basking in golden sunshine, he said he believed the 36-hour conference would see significant projects coming to Northern Ireland, creating hundreds if not thousands of jobs.

The gathering of chief executives a had already proved more successful than any previous conference in the province to encourage enonomic investment, he added.

Mr Cowen, in a scripted address to the business leaders, went one further in referencing famous figures, echoing American President John F Kennedy when he said: "It's not what you can do for Northern Ireland, its what Northern Ireland can do for you."

And he said in terms of the genuine and significant contribution which business leaders could make, the Irish Government and the Stormont Executive "is with you in that task every step of the way."

The former Finance Minister, sitting alongside the ex-Chancellor, said that he wanted to achieve a competitive package to attract investment to both parts of the island of Ireland to achieve prosperity and security for all people, north and south.

Inside, also addressing the invited guests in the Senate chamber, Mr Brown said he and Mr Blair had been involved in the efforts to create an " enabling environment" which would include the Executive increase its share of asset sales receipts from £1 billion to £2 billion.

The apparent offer brought a cautious response frorn the Assembly, however. " While this may seem to be a generous offer, it may not turn out that way," one source said.

"The Executive has been set a target up to now of generating £1m in receipts from land sales for its own use but given the state of the property market, there is no guarantee that it might be able to raise £2m for its own use."

Before a private question and answer session from which the media was excluded, Mr Brown,said: "I firmly believe that in today's global economy the countries that will succeed will be those that unlock the talents and potential of all their people.

"For years the political situation meant that in Northern Ireland it missed out on the full benefits of growth and stability but today Northern Ireland is emerging at a time of peace and prosperity.

"I believe that huge opportunities exist here — competitive operating costs, excellent infrastructure, enhanced connections internationally.

"These are just some of the factors that have combined to make Belfast only second to London in attracting foreign investment projects."

"We are working together to create an even more dynamic and flexible economy for the future.

"I want to see not only an increase in private investment here but for you to see the opportunities that will arise from the opening up in the form of the public sector as well.

"We are today taking further steps to encourage the Northern Ireland Executive to move further and faster towards strengthening the private sector in the economy and we are announcing an increasing amount of revenue from assets sales that can be retained over the next three years from £1 billion to £2 billion and that will increase the resources available to the Executive to increase investment."