The 2007 CANITA Trade Mission is currently being organized. If you would like to participate, please contact Teresa Curtice at York County Economic Development for more information about this exciting opprortunity. The mission will take place in late summer..

CANITA ‘07 Trade Mission

The CANITA ’07 initiative is being organized by Larne Enterprise Development Company (LEDCOM) Northern Ireland, with York County Economic Development Board, the Charlotte Regional Partnership and the SC Department of Commerce. The aim is to bring together business leaders from Northern Ireland and the Carolinas through a week of exciting events that will encourage international trade, joint ventures and inward investment.

Mission Objectives
• To highlight opportunities for trade and investment between Northern Ireland communities and the Charlotte Region.
• To provide qualified business to business meetings/leads for participating companies
• To develop networks/contacts between companies and economic developers in Northern Ireland and the Carolinas.
• To identify and promote support for joint ventures, inward/outward investment, trade development, etc.

History of CANITA

Since the 1700s there have been ties between York County and County Antrim, when the first Scots-Irish settlers landed on South Carolina (Ulster Scots) soil and made their first American homes in York County. In 1996, Larne began a twinning relationship with Clover, South Carolina that celebrated both regions’ ancestry and settlement ties. Since then, this relationship has expanded to include York County and the entire Charlotte and upstate South Carolina region.

Now business leaders are taking these connections to a new level by exploring the business opportunities they both offer. Building on the historical links and the dynamic economic opportunities in Northern Ireland and the Carolinas, the Carolinas Northern Ireland Trade Association (CANITA) was formed; www.canita.org.