THE Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Elisha McCallion has described the recent trip to the Golden Bridges Conference in Boston as an extremely significant visit which has further strengthened business relations with the US, building on the recent commitments of major investors One Source Virtual and Metaverse Mod Squad.
A high level cross-border delegation was led by Mayor McCallion with the Mayor of Donegal, Councillor Ciaran Brógan, and the Derry-Strabane and Donegal Council Chief Executives, John Kelpie and Seamus Neely, accompanied by representatives of the Ulster University and Letterkenny Institute of Technology.
The delegation travelled to Boston last week to launch the new NW Ireland Investment Prospectus which promotes the region with a view to generating inward investment.
The itinerary for the week included a series of events hosted by the Mayor of Boston Marty Walsh, Worcestor Chamber of Commerce and Worcestor State University.
One of the major highlights of the conference was the presentation of a special recognition award for US Company One Source Virtual, who were lauded for their recent investment in Derry bringing 289 jobs and an estimated £12million annual contribution to the local economy.
Speaking on her return at the weekend, Mayor McCallion said: “We enjoyed some extremely positive engagements during our visit to Boston and I was delighted to meet with so many significant figures in the spheres of politics, business and education. It was fantastic to hear so many influential business leaders discussing the merits of doing business here in the North West.
“I was particularly pleased to meet with Wesley Bryan from One Source Virtual and make a special presentation acknowledging the company’s recent major investment in the region.
“I also had the chance to join Metaverse Mod Squad founder Amy Ryan Pritchard to discuss the company’s plans for the city, another major coup for the North West in terms of establishing our position as a vibrant and vital digital hub.
“The conference offered the perfect opportunity to reaffirm the North West’s commitment to providing our international investors with the ideal platform to do business in terms of educations, skills, infrastructure and lifestyle.”
The Golden Bridges Conference is now in its seventh year and aims to establish strong trans-Atlantic links between Boston and the North West of Ireland, focusing on business, community, culture and education based on shared history and mutual goals.
During the visit representatives of both Derry and Donegal introduced the NW Ireland Investment Prospectus to their US counterparts, stressing the importance of the new Cross-Border Gateway for Business. This partnership approach aims to strategically target international investors based on a strengthened offering combining the assets of both sides of the border.
Health and Business Development was a key focus area of the conference, and discussions centred on the development of a partnership between local medical research facility C-TRIC and top US Life and Health Science Centre, the University of Massachusetts Memorial Hospital
During the trip the North West delegation also met with new Consulate General Fionnuala Quinlan, Robert Johnston, President of Becker College, Barry Maloney, the President of Worcester State University and they received a warm welcome from a group from Derry and Donegal who have now made their home in Boston.
A wide range of collaborative projects were discussed throughout the trip, including the development of educational exchanges, regeneration initiatives and key foreign direct investment plans.
Tags: