Minister Bruton departs on 9-day trade and investment mission to Gulf and India with 63 Irish companies

18th April 2015

Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland mission includes a total of 53 meetings and events aimed at supporting jobs in Ireland

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD today (Saturday) departs on a 9-day, 7-city trade and investment mission to the Gulf region and India, aimed at supporting more jobs in Ireland by delivering more exports for Irish companies, as well as extra multinational investment.

This is Minister Bruton’s 26^th major trade/investment mission since taking office 4 years ago. As part of its strategy to support increased exports and jobs, this Government more than doubled the number of trade missions since taking office.

The mission, organised by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, involves a total of 63 Irish companies, and comprises 53 meetings and events. 7 cities will be covered – Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Doha, New Delhi and Mumbai. Among the programme is included:

• 37 meetings and events aimed at supporting increased exports by Irish companies
• 5 one-on-one meetings with multinational companies considering investments in Ireland
• 7 one-on-one political meetings, including with Government Ministers in each of the four countries visited
• 4 engagements with media, aimed at communicating Ireland’s economic story in the countries involved

The mission to the Gulf follows a highly successful trade mission to the region in 2014 led by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister Bruton, and aims to develop leads and contacts made on that mission, help Irish companies finalise deals with local partners and ultimately create more jobs in Ireland.

Speaking before departing, Minister Bruton said:

“At the heart of our jobs plan is supporting more exports, from both Irish and multinational companies. We have put in place a range of measures to deliver on this, including doubling the number of trade missions, placing extra staff for Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland in overseas markets and tax incentives for firms to place more staff overseas to help win sales. In the past four years these measures have delivered real results, with 40,000 extra people at work in exporting companies over that time.

“A key focus of these measures are high-growth emerging markets like India and the Gulf region which are the target of this mission. I have visited both of these markets on several occasions since taking office, and what is clear is that there are real opportunities here, both for Irish exporting companies to win export sales, and for Ireland to attract multinational companies. What is also clear is that consistent, sustained work is needed in order to take advantage of these opportunities.

“This trade mission is a key part of that plan, and I am confident that it will result in concrete results, in the form of extra sales for Irish companies and new investments in Ireland from multinational companies, over the coming weeks and months”.

ENDS

For further information contact:

Marie McMahon, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innvoation
Ph: 087 1255572

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Back to Department News