MCKEOGH GALLAGHER RYAN ACCOUNTANTS hosted the inaugural meeting of the Limerick-China Forum.
Chaired by former mayor Cllr. Jim Long it brought representatives from the business, education, hospitality and transport sectors together formulating strategies to enhance the region’s ties with China and identify mutual opportunities.
The forum aims to establish a not-for-profit entity to foster trade relations between the Limerick-Shannon region and China. Specifically it will focus on developing education, tourism, trade and commerce, airport transportation, sea transportation and cultural ties, identifying opportunities for both sides to work together towards mutual goals.
The members of the Limerick-China forum in MGR Accountants offices at their inaugural meeting.
Chaired by former mayor Cllr Jim Long, he commented, “The meeting was well balanced and very positive with useful contributions from all sectors of the region. The Forum represents a major opportunity to develop many of our local resources, identifying new markets in China and attracting commercial and tourism prospects.”
The Forum is in the process of putting a board in place in advance of a delegation from Nanjing Province in China visiting the region in early March. Mary McKeogh, Partner with McKeogh Gallagher Ryan Accountants, who hosted the meeting and are advising on the structure of the Forum, stated: “We are delighted to be working with Jim Long and the Forum. It represents a real opportunity to develop new commercial, education, and tourism links with China, a vast market and one we are only beginning to access. We were delighted with the attendance and the support for the Forum at yesterday’s meeting – all the colleges (Mary I, UL and LIT) were represented as well as the Chamber of Commerce, Shannon Airport and of course it is an initiative of City Council, led by Jim Long. The port and Irish Hotels Federation will also be participating so it is a very well balanced, enthusiastic and representative group.
“We are also very grateful to have Professor Cathal Brugha, Director of the Centre for Business Analytics in the UCD School of Business and co-author of Doing Business in China, advising the Forum on Irish-Chinese relations, to guide us through the cultural and business landscape.
Summing up the Forum’s first meeting Cllr Jim Long said: “Certainly the region has suffered hugely in the recession, and this is a real example of a local initiative where policy makers and commercial interests are aligned to help the Limerick-Shannon region source its own opportunities and secure its future.”
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(L-R) Mary Considine (Managing Director of Shannon Airport), Mary McKeogh (MGR Accountants), Paul Foley (Limerick City Council) and Cllr Jim Long (Limerick City Council)
(L-R) Professor Cathal Brugha (UCD), Mary McKeogh (MGR Accountants), Muiris Gavin (Dermot G O’Donovan Solicitors), Cllr Jim Long (Limerick City Council)
(L-R) MGR Accountants’ Eoin Ryan with Gary O’Brien (Mary Immaculate College).
(L-R) Michael O’Connell (LIT)and Cllr Jim Long with MGR Accountants’ Mary McKeogh