The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Ms. Mary Mitchell O’Connor T.D, departed Saturday for China and Japan to lead a joint Enterprise Ireland and IDA investment and marketing programme. This is the Minister’s third trade and investment mission since her appointment, having previously visited Farnborough in the UK and the West Coast of the USA.

The visit, organised by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, comprises over 21 different meetings and events. It includes a series of meetings with Chinese and Japanese companies – from a range of different sectors – who are considering investing in Ireland. Minister Mitchell O’Connor will meet with a number of different businesses to support increased exports by Irish companies to both countries. She will also hold high-level discussions with counterparts in both the Chinese and Japanese Governments.

In total, the visit comprises over 21 different meetings and events. Three cities will be covered – Shenzhen, Beijing and Tokyo. The Minister will be accompanied by the CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Julie Sinnamon, and the IDA’s Head of Growth Markets, Eileen Sharpe.

Speaking before departing, Minister Mitchell O’Connor said: “This Trade and Investment Mission follows my July announcement of an expanded and intensified programme of Ministerial-led missions and events to support Irish exporters. This includes both diversification into new markets and expansion into existing ones. Markets like China and Japan are especially important in this context, not just for Irish companies exporting overseas but also as a source of new foreign direct investment into Ireland.”

The Minister continued:“Brexit will likely pose a number of challenges for our exporters. That is why we need to continue to find new customers for Irish companies overseas. The Chinese and Japanese economies are respectively the second and third biggest in the world and there is potential to significantly grow Irish exports into both markets. Similarly, we want to find new sources of FDI in Ireland and targeting Chinese and Japanese companies is a key part of that strategy.”

The Minister concluded:“I look forward to the week ahead and I’m confident that this engagement with Chinese and Japanese companies can lead to further job growth in Ireland.”