REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT ENTERPRISE IRELAND BUSINESS LUNCH , RADISSON SAS HOTEL, SOFIA
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT ENTERPRISE IRELAND BUSINESS LUNCH , RADISSON SAS HOTEL, SOFIA, THURSDAY, 26 MARCH, 2009
I am delighted to be at this gathering of business leaders today, as part of the very first State Visit from Ireland to Bulgaria. It is wonderful to see such a strong and healthy interest in the further development of the business relationship between our two countries, for as we both know our people flourish where there is opportunity and well-grounded prosperity and good business is a major contributor to both. As one of our newest partners in the European Union, it is important for Ireland to work hard to explore the opportunities that this new partnership has to offer. Today’s lunch is part of that effort and, we hope, an important part of a process in which we both commit to building bilateral trade and solid friendships between our countries.
Today’s event comes at about as difficult a time as it is possible to find. Across Europe and the world, a global recession is threatening the economic well-being of people everywhere. Unemployment is rising, investment stagnating and businesses are struggling. We do not have the luxury of being mere disinterested spectators. We have to be right at the heart of the fight back to stability and prosperity and that is why it is so essential that we build stronger and more secure economic ties.
The Irish Government has taken swift steps to address the current difficulties including measures to address fiscal pressures, the development of a framework for economic renewal and measures to stabilise our banking system. Many of the strengths that drove our recent economic progress remain in place and will position Ireland well to take advantage of the global economic recovery when it comes. We have a strong base of modern industry, a highly skilled and flexible workforce, a positive fiscal environment and a pro-business culture. Our people, like the people of Bulgaria, are hungry to do their best and make their country the best it can be. In Bulgaria, years of strong economic growth with substantial inward investment will also help Bulgaria to face the challenges now presented by the global downturn. This is good news for its people and for those of you doing business here.
The purpose of this trade lunch is to enhance relationships between Bulgarian and Irish business interests, and also to highlight Ireland as a source of world-class products, services and expertise. Our successful integration into the European Union and the subsequent rise in our standard of living did not happen overnight but over three decades of sustained effort including investment in education, training and research, in social partnership, in creating an attractive business environment and in innovation.
Within the Irish firms that have travelled to be at this event are skills and experience which can contribute toward Bulgaria’s continuing development and transformation, just as Ireland transformed itself in recent decades. For instance, the use of large-scale investment from national and EU sources; the construction and modernisation of Bulgaria’s built environment; investment in infrastructure and services – these will all require careful and sensitive planning, skills in project management, and sustainable energy-efficient design and building methods. I’m glad to say that Ireland has considerable experience to offer in these areas. Today’s lunch is a real chance for you to not only learn about one another and from one another, but to build toward a closer and more mutually beneficial future.
Bulgaria is increasingly becoming a market for Irish goods and services. Trade between our countries has grown strongly in recent years, with Irish exports increasing by more than 40% last year. The statistics are impressive, but there is plenty of room for further improvement.
Irish-owned companies have been gradually developing their businesses here in a variety of fields - financial services, business processing; software development; recruitment and consultancy. In the months ahead we expect that investment in these fields will continue, and we will see an increased trade in niche goods and services.
Enterprise Ireland, which has organised today’s lunch, is the trade and technology agency of the Irish Government. It actively supports and invests in Irish companies, to help them build business relationships and accelerate sales growth worldwide. Its role is to ensure that the business partners, customers and associates of Irish companies are fully informed of the benefits of trading with Ireland. Enterprise Ireland is working closely with the growing number of Irish companies who are doing business in Bulgaria, and the eighteen Irish companies represented here are among those who recognise the potential in the Bulgarian market. Companies may talk to each other via the computer or do business on the internet but it is the human connections, the person to person contacts, the trust and friendship that builds as people get to know one another, that is a crucial basic building block and that is why a lunch like this is so useful. There are many people building up those relationships.
I would like to mention in particular the achievements of companies like Taxback International, which runs an international service centre from the city of Varna, and Project Management Group which has a strong track record in Bulgaria and wider south-eastern Europe in delivering consultancy and technical assistance projects. Software companies have also been successful, including Openmind Technologies and Changing Worlds in the telecoms area, and FTI Treasury, whose software helps public institutions manage their debt. Most recently, Ireland’s largest bank, AIB Group has indicated its interest in the Bulgarian market by taking a significant stake in the Bulgarian American Credit Bank.
When our economies move out of their current slow phase, there is substantial potential for further trade and investment growth in the years ahead, with opportunities right across the business spectrum. This is the case particularly in sectors where Irish companies and their Bulgarian partners are already active, such as information technologies, financial services, construction, environmental technologies and related services.
In attendance here today are some of the key decision makers and business leaders in Ireland and Bulgaria. You all have a role to play in shaping a better economic relationship between our countries, and our companies, in the future. You have a central role in bringing the dignity of work into people’s lives and with it the choices and chances that are opened up by genuine and sustainable prosperity. I wish you well in your meetings and negotiations, and I can assure you of Ireland’s continued support and commitment to building a better economic relationship with Bulgaria to our mutual benefit.
Thank you.