Recommendations driven by the private sector to expand peace through prosperity

Organisers of the US-Ireland Business Summit, which opens in Washington today, revealed several initiatives to expand trade and create new US-Irish business partnerships between the United States and both parts of Ireland.

Among these was an announcement by US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mr Tommy Thompson, that he will lead a business mission to the Republic and Northern Ireland later this year to foster business linkages in the biotechnology sector.

The two-day summit is being attended by the Tánaiste, Ms Harney; Northern Ireland Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Sir Reg Empey; and President of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox.

Delegates from the US administration include Mr Thompson and Secretary of Commerce, Mr Don Evans.

The organisers had hoped that US President, George W. Bush, would launch the summit this morning but the White House said yesterday that the President would depart for Kentucky at 8.30 a.m. today and that the conference was not on his schedule.

Instead Mr Peter Lynch, vice-chairman of Fidelity Management and Research and the author of several best-selling books on investment, will give the keynote speech for the transatlantic gathering, designed "to expand economic activity, collaboration and strategic alliances" among the United States, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The invitation-only summit has been organised on a self-financing basis by the US-Ireland Business Summit, a non-profit organisation founded and chaired by Ms Susan Davis, chairman of Susan Davis International, a communications and public relations firm based in Washington, DC and a Republican Party fundraiser.

The Government and the Northern Ireland executive each contributed $50,000 (€50,337) towards funding the event.

The summit "marks the first time in history that nations have examined and set forth recommendations, driven by the private sector, to expand peace through economic prosperity," said Ms Davis.

It was "a key step towards President Bush's vision of furthering the Good Friday Agreement through expanded trade and economic co-operation".

Other initiatives include an invitation by Dr Rita Colwell, Director of the National Science Foundation, to Irish researchers to attend a workshop at the Foundation in Virginia to become associated with the NSF high-performance network grid.

Dr Andrew C. von Eschenbach, Director of the National Cancer Institute in the US, said that a database would be developed of recent Irish trainees of cancer institutes throughout the US who have returned to the Republic and Northern Ireland to facilitate a workshop training programme for young scientists and researchers.

Ms Harney yesterday visited Albany, the New York state capital, to discuss business initiatives with local industry leaders.

The summit "offered a unique opportunity to identify and evaluate the potential of current and emerging technological developments in the financial services, information and communications and bioscience sectors, and provide a basis for new and enduring collaborations amongst US and Irish business and academic personnel", Ms Harney said.

Delegates were invited to a Congressional reception last night hosted by Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy and Republican Congressman Jim Walsh.