Irish minister and new consul arrive on first ever visit

New Irish Consul General to HK and Macau Peter Ryan, left, Minister of State for Finance Simon Harris, center, and Irish Chamber of Commerce Chairman Niall Murray, right

Situated on almost opposite sides of the world, at first glance it might not seem like there’s much in common between Macau and Ireland. But actually you’d be wrong. As two small places with colonial pasts located on the edge of Europe and China respectively, both see themselves as gateways to larger markets and their own continents. Aside from this, each is making a concerted effort to promote their individual tourism industries, with prospects ripe for increased cooperation.
With this in mind, yesterday the Irish Minister of State for Finance Simon Harris, together with newly inaugurated Irish Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau Peter Ryan, plus a delegation including Irish Chamber of Commerce of Macau Chairman Niall Murray, made their first ever visit to the city. Following a meeting with the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Sonia Chan, and prior to a lunch with some members of the Irish Chamber of Commerce of Macau at the Military Club, both took some time out to meet the press and explain more about their hopes for further integration with the city as well as China. “I’m delighted to be the first Irish minister to visit Macau. I’m here as part of my visit to both HK and Macau”, Mr Harris stated.
According to the minister, three areas where Ireland and Macau can mutually benefit are trade and financial services, education, and of course, tourism. Combining both the education and tourism sectors, Ireland is especially looking to promote hospitality, management and tourism courses in Macau due to its strong tertiary educational system as well as student exchanges. “I outlined to the Secretary [of Administration and Justice] that there may be opportunities that we could learn from each other in relation to education and tourism”, he explained. “Ireland prides itself on having a number of excellent third level courses in hospitality, management, tourism; a lot of areas that the administration in Macau have a keen interest in exploring here”.
Likewise, just as the city is doing, Ireland is also hoping to enhance its tourism offering by promoting itself as a tourist destination to Macau. “I think we both have a similar determination to increase our tourism sector. In Ireland we very much pride ourselves on our hospitality sector and that is something that in Macau there is a great pride in as well”, Mr Harris commented.
Having just spoken at this year’s Asian Financial Forum, as the first minister appointed in 20 years who is responsible for international financial services, he is also eager to outline Ireland’s new financial services strategy following the Celtic Tiger’s economic recovery after the Eurozone’s economic crisis. According to his figures, Ireland now has the fastest growing economy in Europe and has more than 200 companies working in IFS employing more than 35,000 people. Mr Harris wants to show Asian investors that the country is open for business by creating an environment for them to diversify and enter the European market. “We believe there are opportunities for Asian funds to invest in Ireland. We believe we can be a gateway for Asia to access the Eurozone, the EU, and as the only English-speaking country in the Eurozone we think that’s an environment that many Asian investors will feel comfortable in”, he explained.
Following Irish President Michael Higgins’ visit to Beijing in December, in the words of Irish Chamber of Commerce Chairman Niall Murray, the country is currently experiencing a “sweet spot” in its relations with China and the government is particularly keen on building relationships with Macau next. This was the reason behind the creation of new HK-Macau Consul General Peter Ryan’s full-time post. According to Mr Harris, “I hope that my visit today together with the creation of a […] Consulate is a real sign of our commitment and eagerness to improve both economic and cultural links with China, and I think we can certainly offer China and indeed Macau the opportunity as a gateway to Europe and we look forward to exploring those links”.
Working together with the consul, the chamber aims to help Irish businesses compete here and increase awareness of the city for the Irish market back home especially in terms of hospitality and goods and services. According to the minister, Ireland has a notable agricultural industry and a competitive advantage in its family-owned farms producing “high-end, high quality goods” and food and dairy products. “I think there’s massive opportunities for Ireland in relation to food and drink”, he stated. “I think the whole area of agriculture and agricultural produce has a lot to offer”.
Similarly, Consul General Mr Ryan also stated that in both Macau and China there’s a strong demand for foodstuffs like milk as evidenced by the fact that 10-15% of all China’s infant milk formula comes from Ireland. Consequently, the chamber is now aiming to get Irish companies to branch out and look east toward these markets, as well as to promote other Irish products like crystal and linen. “I think there’s a huge potential for our people in Ireland to develop a foot­hold in Macau. We have a lot of entrepreneurial talent”, Mr Harris remarked. “Whilst we have a small in number Irish community here in Macau, it’s clear that they are influential and passionate about both Macau and Ireland”.
Many of the local Irish community also work in the casino industry. “We created the Irish Chamber because we realized that when there’s a lot of bids for casino contracts and goods and services being offered in the market, there are huge numbers of representatives from other European countries, very few from Ireland”, Chamber Chairman Niall Murray stated. “We’ve been very passionate in trying to get together this small group to create the Irish Chamber to increase awareness of Macau to Irish companies and let them know this is a potentially wonderful market for quality goods and services… with regards to hospitality products which are gourmet foods. Gourmet foods are huge”.
Lastly, the Emerald Isle has its own distinctive culture and Mr Murray is also keen on introducing it to Macau. For the upcoming annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations this March 17, he is hoping to bring Irish music and dance to the city by inviting a group to participate at an event embedded into the Venetian’s Carnevale festivities. With the prospect of a glass or two of Guinness and some Gaelic song and dance, Macau’s residents are sure to welcome the Irish with open arms.