A SENIOR US government official is leading a business development mission to Northern Ireland and the Border counties next week. The delegation includes II companies in the information technology sector and will visit Belfast, Newry and Dundalk.

The delegation will be headed by the newly appointed Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Economic Policy, Mr William Ginsberg. He replaces Mr Chuck Meissner who was killed in a plane crash in Croatia along with Mr Ron Brown, the then Secretary of Commerce.

Mr Meissner was to have led next week's mission, which is a follow up to an earlier one to the area last October. The mission will also discuss the preparations for the second American Irish economic conference, to be held in Philadelphia in the autumn.