REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT EI BUSINESS BREAKFAST IN RIGA TUESDAY, 22ND MAY, 2007
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT EI BUSINESS BREAKFAST IN RIGA TUESDAY, 22ND MAY, 2007
I am very pleased to be with you today to celebrate a significant milestone in trade relations between our two countries. This is the first ever Enterprise Ireland trade mission from Ireland to Latvia and it marks the beginning of what we confidently hope will be a new and vibrant chapter in our business relationship. The trade mission includes some of the most innovative and dynamic Irish companies, with the focus on information and communication technologies, and they are here today to seek out new business opportunities and new partners in Latvia.
Ireland and Latvia are both small countries on the periphery of Europe, rich in tradition and culture. We both know what it is like to have fought against the odds to achieve independence. With this commonality, it is not surprising that our two nations have developed a strong bond of friendship over the years. Ireland was delighted with the completion of Latvia’s independence in 1991 and welcomed Latvia as a sister member of the European Union in 2004. What geography and history once kept apart, the Union now brings together and our futures are now firmly entwined. Now we both seek ways of developing the opportunities for mutuality offered by our shared membership of the EU.
The President of Latvia, Dr Vaira Vike-Freiberga, has twice visited Ireland in recent years. There have been many meetings between Irish and Latvian government ministers and parliamentarians on matters of mutual interest. There is growing contact and co-operation between Irish and Latvian organisations across a range of sectors. And, the links between our two countries have been considerably strengthened by the estimated 20,000 Latvians now living and working in Ireland. They are fine ambassadors for Latvia and they are making an important contribution to the social, cultural and economic fabric of Irish society. Through them we are getting to know Latvia better than through any book or document and of course they too are getting to know Ireland. Many of them are the eyes and ears that see and hear of opportunities of benefit to both of our countries, things just waiting to be tried, or developed.
The level of trade between us is comparatively small, some €74 million last year with a balance substantially in Latvia’s favour. But that figure shows an annual increase of 17%. That strong growth encourages us to believe that through this trade mission and other initiatives, we can explore the potential for significantly increased trade.
One of the objectives of this trade mission is to raise the profile of the Irish information and communications technology sector in Latvia and to assist Irish SMEs in identifying potential ICT partners. Ireland is an attractive trading partner, offering competitive, high quality and technologically advanced products and services. International partnership is a key component of what we offer, and Irish companies are increasingly involved in sourcing relationships, strategic alliances, joint ventures, product/process licensing and collaborative R&D with international partners.
By its nature, the ICT business lends itself well to export and many Irish ICT companies have developed significant customer bases, particularly in the United States. Latvia has also created a recognised capability in software development and is in close proximity to the vast markets of Russia and the CIS. There could well be opportunities for Irish and Latvian companies to work together to their mutual benefit.
Ireland joined the European Union in 1973 and, while our own policies were the primary ingredient for our economic success, there is no doubt that the framework of the European Union was a very positive factor in Ireland becoming both a European and a global trade player. European Structural and Cohesion Funds helped us to create a knowledge-based, export-led economy. Our membership of the European Union, for the first time, gave us a voice in determining the rules under which we operated. We are now playing with a powerful and positive team, within an enlarged European Union.
Trade is Ireland’s business and almost all the diverse activities of the Irish economy – investment in manufacture and infrastructure, education and training, research and innovation in products and services – are ultimately validated in the international marketplace. Since 1994, Ireland’s average annual rates of export growth have been the highest among OECD countries, have been twice that of the European Union and three times the growth of total world trade.
Ireland, because of its comparatively small size, has bred strong export-focused companies which have a wealth of experience, a technologically competitive supply base and a drive and a determination to develop new markets.
Ireland is the single biggest exporter of software solutions in Europe and one of the top three software exporters in the world. The Irish-owned software sector has seen an increasing number of entrepreneurs starting high value added and high export growth companies. Over the last number of years, Enterprise Ireland has supported some 500 high potential start-up companies, which today have a cumulative turnover of close on €1.5 billion each year. These companies represent a new breed of globally competitive industry based on knowledge and innovation. They also represent our future.
Telecommunications is another of Ireland’s major high tech success stories in overseas markets and provides major scope for increasing partnership with Latvia which is itself at the vanguard of the telecoms industry in Eastern Europe and far outshines many of its European neighbours in fixed telephone lines and mobile telephony, as well as Internet connections. Telecommunications is one of the fastest growing industries in Ireland, with exports trebling annually in the past three years. The strengths of the Irish telecommunications sector include excellent core technology, a highly skilled workforce, strong managerial skills, an impressive multinational base in Ireland and a good digital infrastructure into international markets. Again there are obvious synergies that should encourage us to work together.
Our host this morning, Enterprise Ireland, is the Irish government’s trade and technology board. Its job is to ensure that the business partners, customers and associates of Irish companies are fully informed of the benefits of trading with Ireland and they offer a range of services to help professional buying teams to identify and evaluate the most appropriate sources of supply from Ireland. Enterprise Ireland will be working both with Irish companies and with companies in Latvia to create new and mutually beneficial trade opportunities and I would invite you to make the fullest use of their services.
This trade mission event is an opportunity to meet and network and to reflect on the potential for increasing trade between both our countries. It is an opportunity for the friendship and trust on which commerce can build. Ireland wishes Latvia the same prosperity and success she wishes for herself and I wish you all every success as you work to deliver that success to both of us.