Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the context of our economic recovery, we have highlighted areas where we can increase our level of trade, particularly in the export market sector. There has been a particular concentration on trade promotion in the Asian market in recent times. The economic importance of Asia, coupled with its role as a engine for innovation and good practice, has led to a situation where our missions there have been most successful. A successly mission in recent times has resulted in our opening new permanent missions in Asia, including in 2014 Jakarta, Indonesia and Hong Kong. We continue to look at markets in which we have opportunities to engage in further trade. In addition to identifying an Asia strategy, covering China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, we are looking at a trade strategy for Vietnam and Thailand. We now have a full-time mission in Bangkok. The review undertaken recently identified high potential markets not only in Asia but also across Africa and Latin America. Countries such as Turkey, Indonesia, Nigeria, Mexico and Chile were identified. We continue to maintain active engagement to explore further opportunities. We have a trade mission planned for this year which will involve visiting the high potential markets we have identified.