The Dublin Chamber of Commerce will visit Upstate New York this autumn, New York Senator and former US first lady, Ms Hillary Clinton said this afternoon.
The mission is a first for the Dublin Chamber, which this afternoon signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Atlantic Corridor USA, a transatlantic business, education and cultural alliance, based in Buffalo, New York.
Senator Clinton announced that an Irish business office will be opened in Buffalo, New York, to promote business links between Ireland and New York State.
She also announced that Dublin City University (DCU) and Syracuse University are setting up Ireland Connected, a project to establish a high-tech link between rural Madison County, Co Offaly and Co Antrim, to help promote economic and social development.
Speaking in Dublin, she noted the opportunities that Upstate New York has to offer the people and businesses of Ireland and spoke of her pride at the close links between Ireland and New York.
"For centuries, the Irish have travelled to New York to live, to work and to visit. Today, thanks to increased trade opportunities and an increasingly global marketplace, the journey is two ways, and there is a rising tide of commerce that can benefit the people of New York and Ireland".
Later, Ms Clinton will give a keynote speech to an audience of more than 1,000 at the Dublin Chamber of Commerce gala dinner in the Burlington Hotel.
Earlier today she met with the Taoiseach and told of her hopes to build stronger relations between the two countries to create "new opportunities for both of our peoples".