Political difficulties do not have to be a barrier to investment

Northern Ireland’s political difficulties do not have to be a barrier to investment in the region, US special envoy Joe Kennedy III has said.

Mr Kennedy is taking part in a major conference in Belfast which is selling Northern Ireland as an investment location for companies from the US and around the world.

It is Mr Kennedy’s third visit to Northern Ireland since his appointment, having previously been in Belfast during the visit by President Joe Biden and during events to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

He said: “I am thrilled to be back once again.

“I am here because the American public, the American president and I always believe in the people of Northern Ireland.

“We believe in its future, we are committed to its future and we think there is an extraordinary story to tell and that is part of my job, that is why President Biden asked me to serve in this role.

“That’s why we are so excited to not only participate in this conference today but also bring some additional American companies that are excited about the opportunities.”

Mr Kennedy said that Northern Ireland was not alone in facing a difficult political landscape.

He said: “When it comes to politics, Northern Ireland isn’t the only place which has challenging politics these days.

“Politics is hard, you have to work through it, the people of Northern Ireland, this place is ripe for investment, ripe for potential.”

He added: “There is an enormously positive story to tell, there are opportunities here in Northern Ireland because of the people here in Northern Ireland, because of the investment we have already seen, because of the validation we have seen from the 1,200 international companies that do business here.

“That is a credit to the people of Northern Ireland.

“The opportunities because of the Windsor Framework I think are all the more attractive.

“A lot of credit goes to the British Government and their counterparts in the EU for being able to reach that agreement.

“If we are talking about would we love it if things were better, sure.

“Would I love it if things were smoother in the United States, yes, on a lot of levels.

“Politics these days is hard.

“You cannot allow that to be a distraction from the people that you meet when you are walking down the street here or the opportunities to invest here.

“They are not getting necessarily dissuaded because politics is difficult.”