Irish Minister for Trade, Digitalization and Business Regulation Dara Calleary and Executive Director of the Irish national agency for economic development Enterprise Ireland Kevin Sherry visited CzechInvest today and together with CEO Petr Očko discussed possibilities for collaboration. The meeting was also attended by the Ambassador of Ireland, Clion Manahan, and representatives of the Irish Ministry of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Enterprise Ireland and CzechInvest.
"CzechInvest was established based on the Irish model, and that is saying something. Ireland has a developed economy where an agency similar to ours operates, and therefore we have a lot in common. I am glad that the current direction of CzechInvest reflects the latest needs and trends and like Enterprise Ireland we are focusing on innovation, technology transfer and support for the startup environment," said Petr Očko, acting CEO of CzechInvest and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, in charge of the Digitalisation and Innovation Section.
Representatives of CzechInvest informed Irish guests about the services and clients of CzechInvest, the Technology Incubation program and the innovation hubs we are currently building, as well as about the international project "Acclerate GDT", in which the agency participates. This project, funded by an INTERREG Europe grant, is led by Ireland's Munster Technological University and involves partners from 6 other countries. It aims to accelerate the transformation to a green and digital economy through the support of clusters, started a month ago and will run until the spring of 2027.
„I am delighted to be here in Prague as part of Enterprise Ireland’s trade mission to the Czechia. Our trade relations are certainly strong reaching almost €3bn in 2021, and initiatives such as Accelerate GDT led by Munster Technological University demonstrate there are many significant opportunities to foster and grow greater collaboration between Ireland and the Czech Republic. An important focus for me during this visit is to explore ways of cooperation between our two countries. The discussions with CzechInvest underscore the many opportunities that exist for both Irish and Czech businesses to scale up and succeed both at home and abroad,“ said Dara Calleary, Ireland's Minister for Trade, Digital and Company Regulation.
Ireland is the fastest growing economy in the European Union, with its GDP growing by 13% in 2021 and 12% in 2022. Ireland is an advanced knowledge-based economy, with major sectors including IT services, pharmaceuticals manufacturing, and international financial services, as well as an efficient agri-food sector. It is the gateway for American technology companies to Europe, but at the same time it successfully supports domestic companies.
Media contact:
David Hořínek
PR Manager and Spokesperson
+420 724 591 667
david.horinek@czechinvest.org