The economic role of Embassies

I was asked recently to speak at an Investment Conference and attended by London-based companies with an interest in Ireland. It was my task to make the opening remarks. Here is what I said.

As Ambassador, it is my privilege and responsibility to develop connections with the UK to the advantage of my country.

There is no country in the world with which Ireland's ties are as comprehensive as they are with the UK, our nearest neighbour and closest partner across a range of areas.

Politically, the partnership between us has never been stronger, with a recent exchange of historic State Visits and an intensive Government-to-Government dialogue that has led, for example, to a Joint Visa Scheme and a joint trade mission last year.

There are also powerful people-to-people links, including the fact that there are more than 500,000 Irish-born people in Britain and, for example, 50,000 Irish-born Directors of UK companies. Irish people are to be found in every walk of British life, making a huge contribution to their host society.

I want to focus this morning, however, on the Embassy's economic role. Economic promotion has become a genuine priority for our diplomatic service, especially in recent years. I attach huge importance to this area of the Embassy’s work.

The crisis we faced this past six years brought home to us the value of our international reputation and the need for our diplomats to be active in nurturing it.

Our Foreign Ministry recently produced a review of Ireland's foreign policy entitled The Global Island: Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World . The review focuses on five themes: Our People, Our Values, Our Prosperity, Our Role in Europe and Our Influence.

This title, The Global Island, is not just a PR boast. It reflects the actual reality of Ireland's situation. The fact is: ours is one of the most open economies in the world.

Our foreign policy review puts economic diplomacy – our prosperity – at the heart of Embassy activities.

Trade is incredibly important to us. It makes up a far higher percentage of our GDP than in comparable European countries.

Foreign Direct Investment is also a vital ingredient of our economic success, which is why we participate in events such as this morning’s investment meeting. Ireland needs to continue attracting high quality investment so as to build sustainable prosperity.

Furthermore, we have an enormous global community of Irish birth and descent and our culture – whether in the form of music, dance, literature and film - has a real worldwide reach. This gives us a larger footprint in the world than other countries of our size and population.

All of these connections mean that we have a real stake in the world around us. As The Global Island puts it: Ireland 'is connected to the global community in ways that would have seemed fanciful only a generation ago.’

That is why greater emphasis is now being placed within our diplomatic service on promoting economic growth.

Here in the UK, which is our most important economic partner, I place an absolute priority on supporting Ireland's recovery. The UK is a major market for Irish exports. 40% of our food exports come to the UK, more than Euro 4 billion annually. Almost half of all visitors to Ireland come from our neighbouring island and this country is also an important source of investment into Ireland.

Promoting Ireland in Britain means working with our Government agencies - our trade board, our food board, our tourism board and IDA Ireland, which promotes inward investment into Ireland.

We operate a ‘Team Ireland’ approach and the resources of the Embassy are available to our State Agencies whenever they require our support and assistance.

Ireland is a country that seeks to punch above its weight internationally. As a small country, we possess a strong sense of national purpose that has served us well in recent years. It was one of the factors that contributed to Ireland's recovery. Throughout the crisis, there was a powerful collective desire to overcome our difficulties and restore our economic sovereignty.

To the investors here today, I say that you should see Ireland as a country that has its act together, a country that is open to the world and has a welcoming embrace for investors and businesspeople with the capacity to contribute to the creation of jobs and prosperity in Ireland.

Daniel Mulhall is Ireland’s Ambassador in London