Address BY Minister Michael Ahern, T.D., Ireland's Minister for International Trade at the Ireland/Belgium Trade Dinner, held in Chateau de la Hulpe, Brussels

Thank you Ambassador.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you all and I am very pleased this evening to meet with so many leading Belgian and Irish companies who are doing business together or who may be doing so in the very near future. This is an occasion for us to meet and network informally and also to celebrate the continued upward trend in trade between our two countries. I hope that you will all enjoy the evening and use it as a chance to get to know each other better, in order to strengthen relationships for the future.

Business today is as competitive as it has ever been and orders are won on the basis of straight commercial criteria. However with all things being equal, the personal dimension, with mutual trust and understanding, will always be fundamental to good business and is an integral part of the customer-supplier process.

The Irish and Belgian people have in common a tradition of hospitality and one of the pleasures for Irish people doing business in Belgium is the friendly nature of our working relationships.

Irish companies are approachable and keen in their attitude towards business in Belgium. They take a long-term view of their customer relationships, and are happy to work with customers to create or adapt products most suited to them. Buyers frequently tell us that Irish business partners are among the most flexible, reliable and creative suppliers they deal with.

In these days where competitiveness is paramount, innovation is a given, and pricing transparent, the value of having reliable, capable suppliers should not be underestimated.

The purpose of this evening's event is to thank those of you who are currently doing business with Ireland for your continued support, in what ever capacity that may be: as a valued customer, a distributor, a consultant, client or strategic partner. To those of you who have not yet done business with Ireland, we invite you to take a look.

Belgium and Ireland are among the smallest EU member states in terms of population, but both countries have proved to be among the most dynamic in economic terms these last few years. We are both forward moving, forward thinking economies, with a fundamental commitment to the goals and ideals of the European Union and, beyond that, to global trade that helps to develop greater prosperity, understanding among people and a more peaceful world. We are Europeans in every sense of the word. Belgium and Brussels are almost synonymous with the concept of the European community and can be regarded as both the home of Europe and the gateway to doing business in Continental Europe. And, as numerous attitude surveys have shown, the Irish and Belgian people are the most enthusiastic members of the EU

As you might expect, the European market is Ireland's principal trading area, accounting for three-quarters of all our exports. Ireland became a member of the European Union in 1973 and benefited from an inflow of EU structural and cohesion funds. It is well recognised that we put the money to good use, investing in education, building a state of the art telecommunications system and on a wide range of infrastructural improvements designed to attract inward investment and ratchet up the competitive capabilities of Irish industry.

Our accession to Europe was a decisive milestone in opening Ireland to the global marketplace and diversifying our international trade away from its centuries-old dependence on Britain. When we joined in 1973, 55% of everything Ireland exported was sold in Britain. Today, while our sales to Britain are higher than ever before, the British market accounts for just 22% of our exports, reflecting the huge growth in Irish sales to Europe and wider global markets.

Ireland and Belgium share a rather special trading relationship: Belgium is now Ireland's third largest export market anywhere in the world, after the UK and the USA, with Irish exports to Belgium valued at €5.3 billion. Ireland is an equally important trading market for Belgium. Perhaps one reason why we are doing record business together is because of what we have in common.

We share a recent history of dynamic economic growth based on well-established traditional industries and new knowledge and technology enterprises, investment in education and training, support for innovation and R&D, and an ability to succeed in the global marketplace.

International trade is the driving force of the Irish economy today. Our pattern of exceptional export growth is the primary stimulus of our overall economic growth, our improved living standards, enterprise development and our attraction for foreign investors and above all our impressive job creation. Almost all the diverse activities of our economy, whether investment in manufacture and infrastructure, education and training, research and innovation in products and services, are ultimately focussed on the worldwide marketplace where most of Ireland's customers operate.

Ireland's young, innovative, high tech companies have been successful in competitive international markets by demonstrating flair and professionalism. They invest heavily in product development and international marketing. They understand what is needed to gain competitive advantage in a global marketplace dominated by big players.

Irish companies, such as those who are with us this evening, have been successful in overseas markets because they have developed leading edge niche applications that, in many cases, have led them to become global players in their field. In many of the new technologies, innovation rather than size is what matters and it is not just possible but commonplace for a very small company, with limited resources, to compete with the best.

Doing business with Ireland is as easy as conducting business in any other member state. Ireland has a third level education system second to none.

We have a state of the art telecommunications system, and our ambitious National Development Plan includes provision for significant further upgrading of the infrastructure to facilitate increased business and trade development. We are delighted to welcome a number of European partners to these development programmes.

Our mutual membership of the Euro zone is set to provide a further boost for Irish and Belgian trade and will enable companies in both countries to expand their export sales. The admission of new member states to the Union in the immediate future, including the fast developing economies of Central Europe, is a further positive milestone in the development of the EU and one that creates both competitive opportunities and healthy challenges for us all. It is an opportune time to examine the potential for strategic alliances and joint ventures between Irish and Belgian partners - and deepen those that currently exist - to take the fullest advantage of the new dynamic business environment.

Our hosts this evening, Enterprise Ireland, the trade and technology board of the Irish government, actively supports Irish companies in Belgium, through a range of initiatives to build market awareness and promote sales development. Their services to Belgian companies include undertaking confidential, in depth research of the Irish supply base to match suppliers with your requirements. They appreciate that your time is valuable and they can assist you to maximise that resource by undertaking the research that is often the most frustrating and time consuming aspect of purchasing.

Enterprise Ireland works with both Irish companies and business interests around the world to develop partnership opportunities for both, in markets and sectors that are characterised by rapid and dynamic change. International partnership is a key component of this, and Irish companies are increasingly involved in sourcing relationships, strategic alliances, joint ventures, product/process licensing and collaborative R&D with international partners.

I have no doubt that there are significant opportunities for greater partnership between Ireland and Belgium and we are committed to further developing these opportunities in the years ahead.

Thank you.