Trade between Ireland and Scotland is worth an estimated €2.5 billion, President Mary McAleese told an Enterprise Ireland dinner as she began a three-day official visit to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
More than 200 Scottish and Irish business people attended the dinner hosted by Glasgow's mayor, Lord Provost Elizabeth Cameron, at the city council building, in conjunction with Ireland's consulate in Scotland.
Mrs McAleese, who tomorrow receives an honorary doctorate of law degree from the University of Edinburgh, will today meet Scotland's first minister, Jack McConnell, as well as Irish community members in Coatbridge and Edinburgh.
Twenty-five companies working with Enterprise Ireland were represented at last night's event along with key current and potential Scottish customers. Other guests included contacts from financial services, energy, central and local government. Irish firms at the dinner have a combined turnover of more than €400 million, and €20 million in exports to Scotland.
Based on discussions with the companies, the State agency estimated that the dinner played a key role in generating €12 million in potential new exports.
Irish companies at the dinner included a number of start-ups in Scotland: DMS, which provides software technology for car dealerships; Saadian Technology, which produces security-related software; and AMT3D, developers of urban planning-linked software.
The President told guests they were "key influencers and decision-makers who have the power to help to shape future relationships and opportunities between our two nations".
Highlighting the links between the two countries, she said the trade corridor worth €2.5 billion was "of critical importance to both our economies . . . As next-door neighbours we enjoy a considerable level of cultural compatibility for we have been to-ing and fro-ing, intermarrying and intermingling for generations."
Enterprise Ireland has operated in Scotland for 30 years and "it is becoming more and more evident that there is huge scope for joint impact internationally. Scottish and Irish companies are today leading the way across global sectors such as financial services, life sciences, environmental and renewable energy, digital media and construction."
She said: "Ireland's ambition to be a first-rate knowledge-driven economy sits very comfortably with Scotland's education-rich culture." The State's strategy for science, technology and innovation worth € 3.8 billion "offers tremendous scope - in fact an open invitation for collaborations between universities, research institutes and the industrial sectors in Ireland and Scotland".
The future "is the place of most interest for us because that is where we will prove the worth of this generation of Irish and Scottish men and women", Mrs McAleese said.