April 16 1974
Mr John Hume, Minister of Commerce in the Northern Ireland Executive, opened a trade drive in Chicago to persuade more American firms to set up factories in Northern Ireland.
Mr Hume said he also hopes to meet Congressmen when in Washington to brief them on the latest situation in Northern Ireland.
The Minister met Chicago businessmen yesterday and pointed out the advantages of investing in Northern Ireland.
He said the violence which has been widely reported in the US newspapers has been kept off the factory floor and there is a ready source of labour available. Ten thousand extra jobs were created in Northern Ireland last year, partly through foreign investment.
Mr Hume called yesterday on Chicago Mayor Richard Daley – known as the city’s Number One Irishman – and a spokesman for the Minister said afterwards they discussed the Irish situation.
Mr Daley agreed with Mr Hume that there is an urgent need to end the violence in Northern Ireland and work for a reconciliation of opposing factions, the spokesman said.
A police spokesman said no special security precautions had been taken for Mr Hume’s visit, apart from warning police patrols that he was in the city.
Mr Hume will spend three days visiting Chicago and other parts of the Mid-West before going on to New York and Washington.
John Hume, who had strong links with the US throughout his political career, was on a trade mission to the States in the dying days of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Egypt Threatens Strike Against Israel
Egypt will strike against Israel if Israeli forces continue to escalate their retaliation against Syria and Lebanon because of Palestinian guerrilla attacks, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ismail Fahmy said yesterday in New York.
“The Israelis risk setting the whole peace agreement back,” Mr Fahmy said in an interview. “We will not stand by and let them strike at Lebanon and Syria.”
Egypt has maintained a cease-fire with Israel since January, but the Minister warned that this would be broken if Israel continued what he described as “escalations” on the Northern Front in response to the guerrilla raid at Kiryat Shmoneh last week, in which 19 Israelis were killed.