Mayor of London visits Derry as part of regional development strategy

A DELEGATION from the City of London led by its Lord Mayor are on a visit to Derry today, Monday, September 10.

Alderman Charles Bowan has heard about the positive work being done in Derry to deliver Strategic Growth plan and a City Growth deal.

The visit is part of high level economic summit to build on investment links with London

During his trip today, the Lord Mayor of the City of London addressed young people from Foyle College, St Mary’s and St Cecilia’s on the importance of trust in building positive relationships.

Alderman Brown also got a tour of the historic city walls by Edward Montgomery during his a high level economic summit to Derry.

Welcoming Alderman Brown and his City of London delegation to the city, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Cllr John Boyle said purpose of the Economic Summit was to deliver the key objectives set out in the Strategic Growth Plan and the opportunities that exist to build and deepen regional engagement between the City of London and Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He said: “Just last month I welcomed senior representatives from the City of London and the Honourable the Irish Society where they received an update on the city’s bid for a City Deal and the work being done by the Council and its partners to further develop the existing strong links between Derry and the City London.

“This high level Economic Summit will look at the benefits of doing business in the North West and the opportunities that exist in the City of London for businesses in the North West.

“The event will highlight the City Region’s key strength’s focussing on the work that is being done through our Education and Skills Delivery Partnership.

“A key element of the Summit will be the focus on existing industry and the important role they play to the economic growth and productivity to the Northern Ireland and wider UK economy and how we can look at new ways of collaborating and working creatively with the City of London,” he said,

Mayor Boyle added that the common synergy and connectivity between Derry~Londonderry and the City of London is huge significant.

“The City of London is a global leader in areas such as the Financial Services sector.

“My hope is that recent investments such as that being made by Fintru and the creation of 305 new jobs is a shining example of the opportunities that exist in developing a sustainable relationship with the City of London.

“We have a shared history and heritage that can be leveraged into something stronger. Our strong economic history dates back over 400 years to the Plantation of Ulster and in recent years the two cities have worked closely to promote our connectivity and linkages.

“We intend to build on this so we can improve our economic relationship by working closely with businesses, investors and education providers for the mutual benefit of both cities.”

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