US Convention Celebrates Increased Attention
Successful US convention celebrates increased attention on North West
26 October 2015
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 cross-border delegation including Mayor McCallion, the Mayor of Donegal, Councillor Ciaran Brógan, and the Derry-Strabane and Donegal Council Chief Executives, John Kelpie and Seamus Neely, were accompanied on the trip to Boston by representatives of the Ulster University and Letterkenny Institute of Technolog. During the trip, the delegation launched the new NW Ireland Investment Prospectus which promotes the region with a view to generating inward investment.
A major highlight of the conference was the presentation of a special recognition award for US Company One Source Virtual, who were praised for their recent investment in the city, by bringing 289 jobs and an estimated £12million annual contribution to the local economy.
During the visit, the delegation met with key partners involved in tourism development, sport, culture, education and the digital economy.
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.
“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.”
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.
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.