Cowen and Brown to meet US executives in North today

TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen and British prime minister Gordon Brown will spend much of today in Northern Ireland making a pitch to 120 US business executives outlining the merits of investing in the North.

The two leaders will join First Minister, the Rev Ian Paisley, and Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, at Parliament Buildings to address the senior executives who are attending the US-Northern Ireland investment conference.

"It is hugely important that on his first full day as Taoiseach Mr Cowen, with the British prime minister, will put his shoulder to the wheel in the economic interests of Northern Ireland," said a senior official source.

In his acceptance speech as Taoiseach in the Dáil yesterday, Mr Cowen laid particular and early focus on strengthening the Republic's links with Northern Ireland and Britain.

"Consolidating the peace through economic development and mutual understanding will have my full engagement and wholehearted support.

"[ Today's] conference is a timely reminder that our destiny on this island cannot be secured in isolation from the rest of the world. We share too much from history and culture with our neighbouring island not to work for the deepest friendship and the most fruitful engagement. Our economic success on this island owes much to the strength and depth of our relationship with the United States, both through the very many investors who have found here a successful partner for investment, and through the scale of the trading relationship between the two economies," Mr Cowen said.

The Taoiseach and prime minister will separately fly into Belfast City Airport this afternoon where they will have an initial conversation over lunch.

Observers suspect that the relationship between the two leaders will be of a different nature to the warm personal rapport that Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair established.

But Mr Cowen's comments in the Dáil yesterday and the fact that they are devoting so much time to the conference is viewed as an early indicator of how they want the relationship to develop and strengthen.

At Stormont this afternoon, Mr Cowen and Mr Brown will address the US executives in the old Senate chamber of Parliament Buildings. They will tell them how the peace process and the devolved government at Stormont have produced political stability and laid the foundations for economic growth. Dr Paisley and Mr McGuinness will then engage in a question-and-answer session with the executives.