Agenda item

            The Senior Manager, Economy, provided an update in relation to the Council’s international relations approach. She reminded the Committee that, at its meeting in September, it had noted that a review would be undertaken of international opportunities and potential objectives and areas of interest aligned to city priorities and had agreed to receive a future report to consider how targeted international engagement activity could support and advance the Council’s key ambitions.

 

            The Senior Manger advised Members that, as a first step in this work, it had been agreed that officers would bring back a series of high-level considerations to shape the work and that, subject to agreement on the outline approach, a more detailed report setting out the framework would be brought back to a future meeting.

 

            She stated that, in undertaking the initial review, officers had reflected on the previous International Relations Framework which had expired in 2021 and that the purpose set out in that framework remained broadly valid, namely: “to ensure that Belfast is optimally positioned on the international stage to realise our ambitions, and that our resources and priorities are aligned with the overarching strategic vision for the city”. It had noted that the Council’s approach should consider a wider international engagement approach at a regional level – as articulated through the Programme for Government, which was current subject to consultation.

 

            The aforementioned Programme for Government comprised of three key missions, one of which was “Prosperity”. One of the critical areas of action had been identified as “building on our international relationships to advance our economic development and attract new investment opportunities”. It was understood that a new International Relations Strategy for Northern Ireland was currently being developed and would be presented to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which would reflect the approach set out above – and identify the opportunity to leverage the Executive’s networks and resources to support the Council’s international engagement work.

 

            She highlighted that the previous International Framework had identified a number of priority areas of focus. These were broadly termed: Promoting trade and investment; and Attracting visitors and students.

 

            She advised that these areas of focus should remain a priority in any new approach, however, taking account of changes in the operating environment since the original framework, the view on how this work may evolve included:

 

·        Promoting trade and investment: likely to remain a top priority but balance of effort to move towards supporting local businesses to explore international markets rather than FDI (although the Council should continue to support Invest NI in this work). Another significant change since the last framework was our strong capital investment proposition and – in particular – the need to identify and access international financing and profiling opportunities to bring forward critical development schemes;

 

·        Attracting visitors and students: Tourism numbers had rallied significantly over the last year and were now back near pre-Covid numbers. The sector remained a key employer in the city and planned investments such as Belfast Stories and key international event opportunities such as Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann would increase the number of out-of-state visitors. The Council would need to work closely with Tourism Ireland through its international office network to tailor messaging and maximise coverage, in line with wider campaigns. Given the recent investment in culture through interventions such as Belfast 2024, it was likely that the cultural dimension of the tourism messaging would be profiled more significantly in the future. Increased investment in local tourism product should ensure a more authentic and unique local offer and would provide the opportunity for learning from international city partners and developing cultural relationships;

 

·        Supporting our universities and colleges to attract international students was likely to remain an important part of the work given the significant ambitions in this field. Another aspect of this support to universities and colleges that had grown in recent years, was making connections and introductions for our Academic Institutions with respect to teacher/staff exchange and joint research partnerships; and

 

·        Supporting the work of Invest NI “attracting in” talent to address some of the skills gaps in our growth sectors – potentially utilising the international students as part of our talent pool. This would obviously need to consider visa regulations and stipulations at the time and would complement rather than replace existing proposals to help Belfast residents into new or better jobs.

 

            Other areas of engagement might include:

 

·        Innovation City and Smart Belfast: with the appointment of a new Innovation Commissioner and the re-establishment of the Innovation City Belfast Board, there was likely to be an increased focus on promoting the city globally as a beacon for innovation– with a particular focus on inclusive innovation. The vision for ICB was that “Belfast was a place where global excellence in innovation supports inclusive economic growth, delivers more and better jobs, and had a sustainable positive impact on our city, its citizens and the wider region”. International partnerships, collaboration and profiling opportunities would be critical to ensure that this vision was realised;

 

·        Resilience/net zero: since the launch of the Resilience Strategy in December 2020, the work to transition Belfast to an inclusive, zero-emissions, climate-resilient economy within a generation had stepped up significantly. In this field, global networks were critical for learning and sharing of good practice and the regulatory frameworks often derived from international agreements. There were emerging opportunities for profiling investment opportunities from external markets for the pipeline for priority projects identified through interventions such as the Belfast Local Area Energy Plan; and

 

·        Supporting sustainable and inclusive growth: this had been identified as a priority area of work within the Belfast Agenda. It was likely to be an underpinning pillar of engagement activities – and would drive workplans to ensure that sufficient consideration was given to this narrative when exploring investment opportunities.

 

            In addition to matters which the Council should focus on, officers had also considered how this should work. Initial thinking on this included:

 

·        While recognising the need for some flexibility as part of an overall framework, the Council needed to take a strategic approach to opportunity, building on the strengths of our existing city to city relationships. It was reported that the Council had a Sister City status with Nashville, Boston in the USA, and Shenyang in China, as well as the recently secured Memorandum of Understanding with Sejong in South Korea;

 

·        Consider that this approach could be delivered through a multi-annual plan (aligned to the Belfast Agenda timelines) but with an annual action plan and review to take account of learning and new emerging opportunities;

 

·        Need to focus on areas where the Council could add value: this might mean leveraging partner resources to maximise impact and/or taking the decision not to progress with some proposals or areas of work;

 

·        Need to create an overall framework that was fully aligned to and supportive of ambitions and commitments set out in the Belfast Agenda – principally the “Our Economy” and “Our Place” themes – but might also be opportunities under “Our Planet”;

 

·        Need to establish a mechanism for objectively assessing emerging opportunities in order to prioritise resources and focus effort – the Council would not be able to do everything and there were activities that would not advance the city ambitions so the Council should be clear in its analysis of these;

 

·        Need to build on existing linkages – going stronger and deeper rather than spreading resources too thin;

 

·        Need to work through strategic partners – making use of existing resources, and networks rather than duplicating effort;

 

·        Reciprocity – value of focusing collaboration on willing and engaged partners;

 

·        Need to consider appropriate metrics to assess impact of interventions and engagement, recognising that it could be difficult to directly attribute outputs and outcomes to single interventions and that the international engagement activity should be considered as a value-added element of an overall strategy;

 

·        Need to ensure value for money – in line with all service delivery; and

 

·        Need to keep the approach under review in line with the changing global context and changes in personnel/political mandate/policy within the market.

 

            The Senior Manager advised that, following consideration of feedback from Members, officers planned to undertake a mapping exercise of existing linkages across the Council alongside a series of engagements with external partners to understand the current levels and nature of activity as well as building an understanding of resource commitments and future plans.

 

            This initial review work would be critical in helping the Council to avoid duplication as well as maximise opportunities for synergy with external partners. It would also help consider internal resource allocations as part of the budget setting process. It was proposed that a more detailed framework would be brought back to the Committee in February/March 2025 in order to work towards an agreed approach for the new financial year onwards.

 

            During discussion, the Committee provided the following feedback, that:

 

·        engagement with Invest NI in relation to inward investment and regional balance on investment, for North and West Belfast in particular;

 

·        work with universities and European partners on issues such as Climate and Resilience/Life Sciences, including engaging in activities such as Cities and Regions Week;

 

·        explore opportunities for engagement by Members in the EU Stakeholder / US Stakeholder meetings;

 

·        explore opportunities to build on connections to promote Arts and Culture and grass roots organisations;

 

·        work with other stakeholders to develop and showcase tourism; and

 

·        net zero and international best practice - learn from other organisations to ensure maximum benefit to Belfast.

 

            A Member requested that the Committee agree to write to the Executive Office to request an indicative timescale for the introduction of the International Relations Strategy for Northern Ireland.

 

After discussion, the Committee:

 

·        noted the planned review of international opportunities and potential objectives and areas of interest aligned to city priorities;

 

·        agreed to receive a future report to consider how targeted international engagement activity can support and advance our key ambitions;

 

·        noted that the feedback from the Committee would be considered under the review of the Council’s international engagement activity; and

 

·        agreed to write to the Executive Office to request an indicative timescale for the International Relations Strategy for Northern Ireland.