Representatives from Ireland, Canada, USA and France attended a welcome reception for Marine Cluster representatives attending Ocean Business last night at the NOC in Southampton.
The group were hosted by the NOC and the Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Cathie McEwing. The event brought together those looking to develop emerging Blue Economy opportunities in their own countries in order to foster the close collaboration needed by the Marine Clusters around the world. Each will need to apply different regional strengths and expertise to the global challenges, requiring global solutions.
NOC Executive Director, Professor Ed Hill commented, “We were delighted to welcome representative from around the world, looking to forge cooperation between clusters to create socio-economic benefit from oceanographic research. Ocean Business is very much a key date in the diary for any business engaged in ocean observation, meaning that a huge volume of international visitors are present in Southampton this week. The NOC was very pleased to do its bit to welcome some of these to this part of the UK; a region that has an unrivalled concentration of marine and maritime research institutions that are now actively as siting companies with new product development and improved operations.”
The Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Cathie McEwing added, “It was an honour to be invited to the NOC as part of this reception and to meet the many bright minds working to understand the ocean’s role in our changing climate. Our city and region has great strength in marine focused industry and I can see that Ocean Business here on our doorstep is an exciting hub of worldwide collaborative activity.”
Picture shows (left to right) NOC Executive Director Professor Ed Hill, Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Cathie McEwing and Michael Jones is President of The Maritime Alliance.