Northern Ireland is the only region in the UK to have a land border with its closest export market in the euro zone.

Latest available figures show that Northern Ireland on average exports around £700 million sterling (#1.14 billion) of services and goods to the Republic of Ireland each year.

Statistics show there has been a steady growth in cross-Border trade over the last decade with the fortunes of many Northern Ireland companies mirroring the swings and downturns of the pound/sterling relationship.

According to Mr Eric Bell, chairman of the Institute of Directors in Northern Ireland and senior partner with Grant Thornton, business advisers, the North's business relationship with the Republic is vital to the future health of the economy. He believes anything that can influence this relationship, such as the introduction of the single currency, must be factored into current and future economic strategy.

Mr Bell is adamant that this is one of the immediate issues that the Northern Ireland Assembly must address as part of the process of developing a new economic strategy for the North.

"This is a big issue for businesses in Northern Ireland and politically it is also a big issue. Nationally the Institute of Directors has established a clear position on the euro. It is not in favour of joining the euro for the foreseeable future but there is no clear strategy among Northern Ireland's politicians on the issue," Mr Bell said.

He said the land Border made it a more important factor than it was in the rest of the UK.

According to Mr Bell there is concern among the North's business community that the Assembly has failed fully to grasp the challenge of creating a new economic strategy for the future.

Sir Reg Empey, Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, recently announced a major shake-up of the economic development agencies in Northern Ireland. A new super agency, Invest Northern Ireland, is being created to take charge of economic development and job creation from next year.

But Mr Bell said there appeared to be a lack of agreement among political leaders about what needed to be done to take the North forward. "We have got to create an economy in Northern Ireland that is not dependent on the public sector for survival.

"At least 60 per cent of our GDP is currently derived from the public sector - this doesn't work anywhere else in the world and it will not work in the future in Northern Ireland," he added.

He believes it is crucial that the Assembly identifies and establishes a game plan for the future. "We need an economic strategy - we need targets. We need to know how we are going to get there and it needs to be step orientated.

"It's clear that the plan isn't there yet and it would help if a lot of different ministers would talk to one another and get people prepared to buy into one strategy," Mr Bell said.

As senior partner with Grant Thornton in Northern Ireland, he is in a strong position to reflect on the impact the peace process has had on the economy and individual businesses.

He has an intimate knowledge of the small to medium-sized sector in Northern Ireland gained over a 30-year career with a firm - first established in 1860 - whose name has changed through the decades but whose business has remained constant.

As Grant Thornton today, the company is reflective of a large percentage of ownermanaged businesses in Northern Ireland, a section of the business community that Mr Bell refers to as the "lifeblood" of the North.

"Owner-managed businesses have a turnover of more than £200 million per year - they are job-creating, profit generating and of vital importance to the Northern Ireland economy," he added.

He said the companies were characteristically publicity-shy largely because of the legacy of doing business during 30 years of unrest in the North. "There was definitely a head-down mentality in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, people got on with business without drawing attention to themselves. They had one good idea and they built a family firm on it.

"This is also one of the reasons why we have lower take-ups for venture capital in the North; in the past companies tended to keep their business within the family or the bank. The culture of seeking finance outside these sources is only beginning to develop in Northern Ireland," Mr Bell said.

He firmly believes the business environment is changing for the better in the North but he has concerns that certain steps must now be taken by the local Government to ensure the future growth of the economy.

"We need to encourage and promote businesses, and how attractive business can be to the younger generation. Northern Ireland needs to stimulate entrepreneurs," Mr Bell said.

He believes that what Northern Ireland needs now are people who will turn ideas into businesses. "In the past we always said get an education but today education is not the be all and end all - skills are just as important.

"The Institute of Directors is very keen to promote the idea of vocational schools and I believe this is an area we should look at in Northern Ireland," he added.

Mr Bell said one of the immediate difficulties facing the North was its export track record. "We are shipping out more than 6,000 students per year - many of them won't ever come back - and the net immigration is not comparable.

"Northern Ireland does not yet have the confidence that is apparent in Dublin and the Republic of Ireland, the confidence that economic success breeds but there is no reason why we shouldn't have it," Mr Bell said.