The Federation of Small Businesses held its annual ‘Power of Small Business’ Roundtable event in Washington DC today, Tuesday, hosted by FSB UK Policy and Advocacy Chair, Tina McKenzie MBE. Those attending included Joe Kennedy III, US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs; the Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and American guests alongside other representatives from the UK, Ireland and EU.
Speaking at the event Tina McKenzie MBE said:
“I am absolutely delighted that we meet in Washington this year with the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly back in place. It is good news and throws a completely different light on the meetings which we will hold this week.
“SMEs genuinely power Northern Ireland`s economy and employ more people than all the large businesses and the public sector combined. This really underscores why they need to be at the core of discussion and debate about how we should grow the economy and build our society. It is why we are here in the United States this week promoting our SMEs whose leadership, energy and innovation will help drive Northern Ireland forward during the next 25 years.
“The connections between Northern Ireland and the United States go back many generations – they genuinely are the foundation of our own “Special Relationship”. During this decade of extraordinary change, and a year in which more than half the planet is likely to go to the polls, our bonds with the United States can be a steadying force for the future, providing opportunities in both directions across the Atlantic Ocean. We have reason to be optimistic.
“We have the ingredients to set Northern Ireland on a positive economic trajectory - dual market access, potential for lower corporation tax, making Northern Ireland an Enhanced Investment Zone, Freeport status and perhaps even US pre-clearance from Belfast International Airport.
“Very importantly, we have great friends and allies to whom we can turn for support, advice and guidance. That`s why my FSB colleagues and I will continue to work with people like Joe Kennedy III, Chris Heaton-Harris and anyone else who has Northern Ireland`s best interests at heart, to make sure we deliver on the potential for future generations. We want to usher in a new era in relations between the UK, Ireland and the United States, focusing on the future, not the past.”
Joe Kennedy III, US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs said:
“Casting our minds back a very long way to this time last year, this FSB ‘Power of Small Business’ Roundtable was my very first engagement. A year on I am confident that the new Executive, combined with a bullish private sector, will deliver great things for a positive and prosperous future for Northern Ireland.”
Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland said:
"The measures in the Command Paper, for example establishing an Enhanced Investment Zone, are key commitments we have made to help ensure Northern Ireland can become one of the most dynamic business locations anywhere. This will build on the unique dual market access that the Windsor Framework confers which, combined with having a stable Stormont Executive, is a compelling proposition that is creating real investor interest here in the US."