Joint North/South Trade Mission Seeks to Partner Relations in Pacific Northwest
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - The Dublin Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently paid a visit to the Pacific Northwest, spending four days in the Seattle area and three days in Vancouver.
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MEMBERS OF THE TRADE MISSION: Michael Hingston, NICCI; Hakan Karaalioglu, Gama Construction; Sinead Wallace, Blueprint Appointments; Trevor Montgomery, VHI; Gina Quinn, Dublin Chamber of Commerce; Mike Mills, Jigsaw Tree; Maree Gallagher, MGA; Eugene McCague, Arthur Cox; Aine Maria Mizzoni, President Dublin Chamber of Commerce; Gerard O’Hanlon, Stredia.com; Caitriona McConagle, Matheson Ormsby Prentice; Ronnie Foreman, Foreman Consultants; Charlotte Adair, Drainmaster; Janice Lane, Sycadex; Sorcha Flynn, Dublin Chamber of Commerce; Peter Hinds, Base2000 Ltd; Basil Haslett ,Glasscraft; Dr Matt Hussey, Dublin Institute of Technology.
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The focus of the mission was two-fold: partnering and commercialization. The aim was to help identify and encourage partnering relationships between member companies and businesses operating in the Seattle and Vancouver area, and to explore these cities as a model for innovation.
I caught up with Aine Maria Mazzoni, president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver and spoke to her about the mission and its success both in Seattle and Vancouver.
Her role as president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce is an elected role and an office which she holds for one year. She said, “It is a role that I hold in a non-executive capacity because I have a day job. So, the year takes up about one third of your waking hours because it’s quite a demanding role.”
Historically, the Chamber has always held an annual mission to the United States. Two years ago, they went to New York and Toronto. Last year, they did three cities, Chicago, New York and Atlanta. This year, they decided to come to the Northwest for the first time.
“Really, the reason for that was because we had a mission that came from the greater Seattle area to Dublin back in May. It was about 50-60 people from businesses and non- profit organizations. The reason for their visit was to understand more of what was going on in Ireland economically and what the learning would be for Seattle,” said Aine.
“So we decided to bring a delegation out to the Northwest, but this was more of a study mission than a doing business mission this time. It was really to understand more about what is happening in Seattle and Vancouver, with a view to looking at how we can do a better job in Ireland, in Dublin for the businesses we represent.”
The mission includes a variety of people from different sectors of business. Some of the delegates are from the private health sector, some are from the legal sector, and some are from the food and drink sector.
“Basically,” said Aine, “what we are doing in both Seattle and Vancouver is meeting with some companies with a view to looking at partnering opportunities. This would work both ways, and that could be business coming from Ireland to Vancouver, or indeed opportunities for businesses in Vancouver looking to Ireland and indeed a wider Europe to do business.”
This mission is particularly significant said Aine, as it is only the second time that a joint North/South mission has come out to North America. She said, “For the first leg of the trip in Seattle, we were all one and we did everything together, which was great. The Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce delegates had to leave us after Seattle as they had some business to do in Atlanta and we came on to Vancouver.”
Speaking about the overall success of the mission, Aine said, “what we found is that usually the first time you come out with a mission to a city, it takes time to build a relationship. It could take two or three times before you actually build an overall presence and a strength to what you are doing.
“So, overall from the feedback that I have had from the delegation, they have had very positive, early stage meetings with some of the companies that they have met with. I believe in the short term that we will return to Seattle and Vancouver, because there are certain synergies between Ireland and both cities, so we will be keen to come back again and build on this trip.
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For more information about the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, write to: 7 Clare Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Call: 011-353-1-644-7200, fax: 011-353-1-676-6043, e-mail: info@dubchamber.ie, or visit: www.dubchamber.ie.
For more information about the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, write to: 22 Great Victoria Street, Belfast BT2 7BJ, Northern Ireland. Call: 011-44-28- 9024- 4113, fax: 011-44-28-9024-7024, e-mail: mail@northernirelandchamber.com, or visit: www.nicci.co.uk.
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