Diplomat urges trading links
Both countries are trading partners who exchange goods and services worth €30 billion every year, the ambassador told the Cork Chamber of Commerce monthly Business Breakfast in association with the Irish Examiner.
"Ireland is Britain's largest per capita export consumer €6,000 worth of British goods are consumed per person here every year," Mr Eldon said.
British companies are the second largest investors in Ireland after the US with 160 British companies operating here, the ambassador said. And Irish companies are the fifth largest investors in the British market.
But the British embassy's commercial sector can help improve the trading links between Ireland and the Britain, Mr Eldon said.
It can help companies who want to expand in the Britain by providing links to similar British companies.
And the embassy can also help those who want to be a representative for a UK firm here, he said.
"We can also help if you want to expand your overseas section - and there is no charge for any of these services," Mr Eldon added.
The ambassador then outlined the existing trading links between Ireland and the UK. He said British companies had invested heavily here in recent years, citing pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline which has invested €90 million in their Cork plant.
Major Irish companies like Kerry Group, Glen Dimplex, AIB and Bank of Ireland also operate in the UK. Bank of Ireland has recently invested €180m in a joint venture with the British Post Office, providing financial services.
On a lighter note, the British ambassador said diplomats have provided marketing gurus with raw material for advertisements.
"But I am not going to mention a certain brand of chocolates," Mr Eldon quipped.
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