Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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834. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason he has created new commercial attaché posts in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia and Romania; the cities in which these posts will be based; and the role in this regard [24578/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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In January this year, I launched an Economic Diplomacy Strategy that seeks to build on the consolidation of the Department’s trade role in recent years by establishing a network of locally hired Commercial Attachés to extend the range and impact of our Embassies’ activities in support of trade. Our Embassies in Mexico, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Bucharest, and Jakarta have all provided a firm and immediate basis for the appointment of a locally hired, term-limited, Commercial Attaché and it is proposed to appoint such officers to these locations in the coming months.

One of the key considerations in selecting the initial list of locations is the absence of State agency presence on the ground, or a relatively light one; and that economic opportunities exist that are open to be explored. The focus is on markets where there is clear potential and where the target areas are in large measure pre-identified and clear. For example in Brasilia a strong focus on developing the English language sector is envisaged, with the market worth c. €100m per annum to Ireland.