Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Senior Diplomats, and Honorary Consuls based in Northern Ireland attended a special dinner in Belfast on Thursday evening to celebrate the international community’s presence in Belfast.

Organised by The Consular Corps/Association of Northern Ireland (CA-NI), the dinner is supported by Invest NI with peacebuilding organisation Co-operation Ireland official charity partner. All proceeds will go to the Co-operation Ireland Future Leaders Programme.

The dinner took place on Thursday April 11 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Belfast. 

CA-NI, established in 2003, has members representing almost 40 countries including 36 Honorary Consulates.

Peta Conn, Invest NI

The United States of America, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Poland and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have a full resident Diplomatic presence in Northern Ireland under Consuls General. Ireland is represented by a Joint Secretary.  

The 33 Honorary Consuls play an important role in developing trade, tourism, educational and cultural links between the countries they represent and Northern Ireland.

The Diplomatic Dinner brought together London based diplomats and some of the top businesses with Invest NI, providing an opportunity for guests to network and build business relationships between Northern Ireland and international markets.  Around 200 people attended.

Commenting on the success of the event, Tina McKenzie MBE, President of CA-NI, said “This evening has been a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the invaluable contributions of Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Senior Diplomats, and Honorary Consuls; highlighting the strong ties between Northern Ireland and the global community and emphasising the significance of collaboration for peace and prosperity. It’s encouraging to see policy makers and business leaders coming together in events like these as we continue to cultivate partnerships that drive positive change and create opportunities for future generations.”

Peta Conn, Regional Director, GB & Europe, Invest NI, “This event has provided an excellent opportunity to build our connections and partnerships with the international diplomatic community, stakeholders and business.

“It allowed us to showcase what Northern Ireland offers as a location for international business expansion, including access to an educated and skilled workforce, a proven track record, unique dual market access to GB and EU markets and business-friendly government support. 

“We also highlighted Northern Ireland’s strengths as a trade partner, promoting our leading expertise across sectors as diverse as technology, financial services, life and health sciences and advanced manufacturing and engineering.”

Ian Jeffers, Co-operation Ireland CEO said, “At Co-operation Ireland our commitment to fostering understanding and friendship is paramount. Events like the Consular Association Northern Ireland Diplomatic Dinner serve as invaluable opportunities to strengthen ties, build bridges, and promote mutual respect among nations, and we are delighted to again be working CA-NI towards this goal.”