Bill Clinton Hosts CGI Panel On Northern Ireland - A Peek Inside

I had the good fortune to attend a panel discussion this afternoon at the Sheraton Hotel.  It was a Clinton Global Initiative meeting, hosted by the man himself, Bill Clinton.  The room was packed to the max - he still has that level of star power.  The topic of discussion was the Northern Ireland peace process and the immense progress both sides have made to achieve a level of stability only dreamed of a few decades ago.  The panel included: Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin, Northern Secretary of State Shaun Woodward, and Declan Kelly, who was appointed by Clinton's wife, Hillary, to be the US economic envoy to Northern Ireland.

In the audience was Gerry Adams, Bertie Ahern and Martin Scorsese.  Yes, Martin Scorsese.

There was a brief discussion of the successes achieved with the peace process.  And it has certainly been a kind of success that could be a blueprint for other countries facing sectarian and/or religious conflict.  Indeed, Mr. Martin pointed out that delegates from Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have visited NI to study their methods.  All the politics talk was over quickly however, as the main thrust of this event was to promote investment.  Declan Kelly was particularly animated, and his enthusiasm for NI economic and investment potential was so enthusiastic it seeped into the audience, and his speech got a hearty round of applause.  I think Hillary made a good choice in her selection of Kelly!

Mr. Kelly went on to argue that NI has a particularly strong workforce that is highly educated.  Combined with a low cost base, the lowest unemployment in the EU, it was no wonder that almost a billion dollars was invested by over 40 companies during the worst of the global financial collapse.

It seems that NI it attempting to develop into a major economic player in the EU.    They are playing smart - having achieved long fought for stability, they are ready to take advantage of their built-in benefits: a young, highly educated workforce, cultural and language compatibility with Western nations, and low operating costs.  It seems Clinton and CGI are trying to broker as many deals as possible right now.  In fact, Clinton declared that any company could contact CGI directly for help with initiating business with NI.

I have a feeling a lot of deals will be made out of this meeting.  There were hundreds of people in attendance, with at least 300 who were turned away due to capacity.  All in all, a fun afternoon.  The biggest laughs came when Clinton was reminiscing about Frank McCourt's recent memorial service held in a bar across the street, (Rosie O' Grady's for you NY'ers -and if you've read Angela's Ashes, you will understand why he would have preferred a pub over a church service).