Joint message from the First Minister and deputy First Minister to The American Ireland Fund : 12.3.07

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Our Hopes for a Better Future
We want to thank The American Ireland Fund, its partners and supports for their unwavering commitment, in the past, and for this opportunity to tell you of our plans and hopes for the future. The recent publication of our Programme for Government 2008-11 was an important milestone for the Executive which set out our strategic priorities and key goals for the years 2008-11. We are entering a time of great opportunity domestically, but also a time when we should take a more significant role in the international community to convey the success of our achievements and capabilities. We are determined to seize this unprecedented opportunity to deliver a better and more sustainable future for all of our people. As our Programme for Government explains, we aim to build a peaceful, fair and prosperous, society supported by a vibrant and dynamic economy and rich and sustainable environment heritage.

A Peaceful, Fair and Prosperous Society
Growing the economy will be our top priority. This is vital if we are to provide the wealth and resources required to build the peaceful, prosperous, fair and healthy society we all want to see, supported by the public services and infrastructure which our people expect and deserve.

Sustainable economic growth and increased prosperity will provide the opportunities and means to enhance quality of life, reduce poverty and disadvantage, increase wealth and wellbeing and build stronger, more sustainable and empowered communities.

A successful economy that is characterized by high productivity, a highly skilled and flexible workforce and employment growth.

Our economy has performed relativity well in recent years with employment at a historic low, but we know we have more work to do. Our economic inactivity rates remain persistently high, we have an aging infrastructure in need of modernization, and we need to do more to increase our regional prosperity. Our private sector remains poorly structured with a bias toward lower value added activity, paying lower wages with lower profit related activity. As a consequence, the public sector has to shoulder the burden of wealth creation for too long and this must change.

To these ends, we will address the structural weaknesses in our economy and focus on the private sector, including small and medium indigenous enterprise. We will focus on increasing productivity and supporting growth in well-paid high skill jobs. Our workforce will be better qualified and more flexible; our companies will become more innovative and invest more in R&D; and a culture of enterprise and business growth will be encouraged. To be successful, we need to develop an economy that is more dynamic and entrepreneurial; indeed, we must make a shift toward increasing our competitiveness in international markets. Our Programme for Government sets out, at a strategic level, how we intend to address these issues.

We have had some notable successes recently and are increasingly attracting much higher value added investments. For example, Citibank, Fujitsu and Liberty IT have all announced significant investments in recent months. And in terms of tourism, NI was recently tipped as a “must-see” destination by Lonely Planet, and more and more visitors are coming here. We must build on this success.

We have gained a reputation for having a flexible and skilled workforce supported by an effective education system, which we believe gives us a competitive advantage that many global businesses seek. Over the years we invested in education and in training to enable our people to compete for jobs locally and abroad. Now with stability and restoration of a devolved government, that investment is paying off as we are producing some of the best talent in the world. At a time when the potential for economic growth is at its greatest we want to use this growth to tackle inequality and use prosperity to end poverty.

Help from our Friends in the U.S.
We have received a great deal of support and encouragement from the United States over the years, and we are very grateful for that involvement. Our economy, in particular, has benefited enormously from U.S. support and investment.

We believe that the time is right for us to take our place in the world by contributing our knowledge and skills, and by working with our partners to open up new markets and develop new technologies. Locally, we have a very business friendly environment, particularly towards the United States. We have invested in technology infrastructure, and we are currently the only region in the E.U. with 100% broadband access.

We also believe that the United States should benefit from its relationship and investment with us and we want to see more of our businesses setting up operations in America, creating jobs, sharing technology and providing needed services. The U.S./Northern Ireland Investment Conference scheduled for Spring 2008 in Northern Ireland, will provide an opportunity to explore how our economy can provide compelling business solutions for U.S. corporations, and showcase what we have to offer.

We have a long relationship and friendship with the United States which we wish to foster. As we move ahead, we want this relationship to evolve in to one of mutual benefit for all our communities. Although the Executive has been in power for a very short time, we believe that the publication of our Program for Government combined with other developments does indeed show that we are ready and eager to do business – both at home and abroad.