A delegation of Belfast business leaders, led by Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NI Chamber), arrives in Brazil today (Tuesday 11 June), where they will showcase Northern Ireland as a potential host for a global congress event in 2023.
Included in the NI delegation alongside NI Chamber are Invest Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, Visit Belfast and ICC Belfast.
Supported by these strategic partners, NI Chamber is joining with British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Chambers Ireland to present the sole UK and Ireland bid to host the event in 2023 – which, if successful, could bring an estimated economic value of £1.92m to Northern Ireland.
NI Chamber is a gold sponsor of the 11th ICC World Chambers Congress in Rio de Janeiro – a biennial global forum which provides an unrivalled opportunity to share best-practices, exchange real-word ideas and inspire new thinking around the most pressing issues affecting the business world today.
1,200 participants representing 100 countries will attend the Congress over the next three days, which will feature 80 global speakers across 25 panel and plenary sessions, all under the theme of ‘creating a shared future’.
NI Chamber Chief Executive Ann McGregor explained: “Our sponsorship of the 11th WCC provides us with an invaluable opportunity to highlight to a global audience Northern Ireland’s compelling proposition as a world-leading destination in which to live, work, learn, visit and invest.
“Over the next three days in Rio we will confidently begin to position Northern Ireland as a serious contender to host the Congress in 2023 – underpinned by many important considerations such as our excellent connectivity, our burgeoning business tourism industry and our award-winning congress venue, ICC Belfast.”
According to British Chambers of Commerce Director General Adam Marshall and Chambers Ireland Chief Executive Ian Talbot, this compelling bid is further strengthened by the “power of partnership”.
“Northern Ireland’s bid to host the WCC is an excellent example of the power of partnership, with NI Chamber enjoying the support and backing of the entire Chamber network across the UK and Ireland in a unique and stand-out approach to the bid process. Collectively, this network of 114 Chambers represents 130,000 member companies and over 8milllion employees.
“When coupled with the strong public and private sector partnerships between NI Chamber and strategic partners in Northern Ireland, this presents a very strong, collaborative message to the Congress organisers about our serious intent to bring the WCC to Belfast in 2023.”
Held every two years in a different region of the world, the World Chambers Congress provides unparalleled opportunities to connect and strengthen relations with a diverse and international group of individuals representing more than 100 countries. Comprising an influential thought-leadership conference and a world-class competition to showcase chamber innovation.
For more information, visit: worldchamberscongress.org.