Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 October 2012
30. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there are any trade missions planned to visit Russia in the near future, on the back of the trade mission he led to Russia in June. [44814/12]
View answerProposals for Trade Missions to be led at Ministerial level in 2012 were submitted by Enterprise Ireland last December simultaneously to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and to me for consideration and approval. The agreed programme for this year was presented to the Export Trade Council at its 16 February meeting. It is still too early to discuss the EI programme of Trade Missions for 2013, having regard also to ongoing Ministerial travel planning related to our EU Presidency. The Deputy will be aware that Russia has been identified as a key high-growth and high-potential market for Ireland under the Strategy and Action Plan for Irish Trade, Tourism and Investment to 2015. The local market team, chaired by our Ambassador, with the participation of the relevant State Agencies, is working actively to expand trade, investment and education links.
During a visit to Russia in November 2011, I co-chaired a meeting of the Ireland-Russia Joint Economic Commission. The meeting provided an opportunity to explore how our trade and business links with Russia could be further developed. My visit led to a follow up meeting with a sectoral focus in Dublin in May of this year at which a Work Programme was adopted. On that occasion, the Russian delegation met the Minister of State for Trade and Development, Joe Costello T.D. who subsequently led an Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to Moscow from 18-22 June. During this Mission, Minister of State Costello participated in a large number of business engagements organised by the Embassy and State Agencies, as well as in high-level political meetings.
I believe that through this combination of high level contacts and work on the ground on a daily basis by our Embassy and the State Agencies, our trade relations with Russia will continue to strengthen. In 2011, Irish merchandise exports to Russia increased by 34% to €507 million making Russia, for the first time, one of our twenty most important markets for exports of merchandise. Strong levels of export growth have continued into 2012 with merchandise exports of €401m for the first 8 months of the year, an increase of 15% over the same period in 2011. The Russian market is an important one for indigenous companies, accounting for over 10% of indigenous exports in 2011.
