Last week was a busy week for the Chamber with two visits, one from the Lithuanian Ambassador and the other from the UK Commercial Attaché.
In both cases the aim was to foster stronger trade bonds between the two countries. The feedback from participating companies and from our visitors was extremely encouraging.
The Chamber will be continuing with these visits with other embassies scheduled including Slovenia, UAE, Brazil and Argentina.
Hanna McDonnell Vice President and Paddy Malone met with the Lithuanian Ambassador Jonas Grinvevicius and his assistant Renata Rinkauskienne. We discussed possible trade links in the manufacturing, pharma and life science areas as well as in other areas. The Ambassador showed a great interest in the M1 Corridor and Paddy explained both its origins and its targets. The Ambassador recognised Dundalk’s unique position in the centre of the M1 Corridor and the centre of the Dublin Belfast corridor.
Hanna explained that we are part of Ireland’s Ancient East and that we had a significant number of tourist destinations in the region.
Dundalk Chamber met with Martin Pathan from the UK. We discussed several issues including Brexit and related issues. These included cross border taxation / social welfare and pension issues. Paddy Malone PRO outlined his practical experience as an accountant dealing with these matters. We also discussed the M1 Corridor and the use of Shared Island funding. Martin also indicated his support for Stephen Kenny and his team St. Pats.
The visit was different from others we organise at Martin’s request. This consisted of member companies meeting as a group with Martin and chaired by our VP Hanna McDonnell. The meeting was lively and generated a lot of interaction.
