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A new Irish consulate covering the north of England is to be opened in Manchester.<\/p>\nA new Irish consulate covering the north of England is to be opened in Manchester.<\/p>\n
Ireland\u2019s minister for foreign affairs Simon Coveney made the announcement to mark a \u201cvirtual visit\u201d to Dublin by the mayors of Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City region, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram.<\/p>\n
Mr Coveney said the new diplomatic presence would further his government\u2019s objective of developing Irish-British relations post-Brexit.<\/p>\n
Ireland already has an embassy in London and consulates general in Edinburgh and Cardiff.<\/p>\n
It is hoped the new consulate general will open in the first half of next year. In 2019, state business support agency Enterprise Ireland opened an office in Manchester.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoving ahead with plans for a new consulate in the north of England is a really strong signal of Ireland\u2019s commitment to the Irish-British relationship,\u201d said Mr Coveney.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen opened, this new consulate general at the heart of the north of England will upgrade our capacity to advance our commercial interests and our cultural and people-to-people links.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am especially delighted to be making this announcement today as the Tanaiste (Leo Varadkar) and I prepare to welcome a virtual visit from Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, and Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnhancing our collaboration with regional and local government in Britain will be a big part of our work to deepen Irish-British links.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to a valuable exchange with Mayors Burnham and Rotheram today, who between them represent areas with a combined population of 4.3 million people and with deep historic links to Ireland\u201d.<\/p>\n
Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, added: \u201cEnterprise Ireland warmly welcomes the announcement of a new consulate general for the north of England.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe north west of England is a very dynamic business environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cReflective of this, in 2019, Enterprise Ireland opened a second office in the UK, based in Manchester, to develop and sustain Irish export growth to the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the north west of England there are particularly strong opportunities in infrastructure, housing, clean energy and transport, healthcare and manufacturing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Brexit introduces challenges and complexity to the market, the UK will continue to be an important and attractive market for Irish enterprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2019, Enterprise Ireland client companies achieved the highest ever recorded exports to the UK and overall grew by 2 per cent to \u20ac7.9 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to working with the consulate general to strengthen Ireland\u2019s presence in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n