The cross-Border trade & business development body would be able to present three reports on key areas of business development North and South within days of the restoration of the political institutions in Northern Ireland, it emerged yesterday.
Although the body, chaired by Dr Martin Naughton of Glen Dimplex, only held two board meetings before the institutions were suspended, work on the reports has already reached summary stage and would be presented at the first available opportunity, a spokesman confirmed yesterday.
The reports focus on three key areas of business development:
trade promotion - identifying new areas of trade between North and South, promoting linkages, supplier partnerships, joint marketing initiatives, supplier partnerships, joint marketing initiatives and growing sales;
business development - building competitiveness and devising new approaches to business development in a cross-Border context in such areas as research, training, marketing, quality improvement and regulatory issues;
e-commerce - maximising the potential of e-business and supporting business by making recommendations to increase enterprise competitiveness in a North-South context, in areas such as skills availability, telecoms, IT and e-commerce.
Research for the three reports was conducted for the body "in-house" by several organisations, such as IDA Ireland, the North's Industrial Development Board, the Northern Ireland Economic Research Council and the Industrial Research Technology Unit.
The trade body will also help stage a conference in June, focusing on the benefits e-commerce can bring to Border-based small- and medium-sized enterprises.
A restoration of the political institutions would also enable the cross-Border body to take up its permanent headquarters in Newry, Co Down, where it will initially employ up to 42 people.
