Nigel Dodds, speaking in front of a packed auditorium in BBC Blackstaff Studios, said the Province had come a long way in the last 10 years in terms of economic, social and political development.

“Our economy is transitioning successfully towards tradable services and niche manufacturing,” he said.

“Whilst we can compete in areas of niche manufacturing, in the past 10 years, Northern Ireland has developed a growing reputation to develop software for telecoms, to locate financial services and business applications and, increasingly, to undertake sophisticated financial processing, including funds management.”

The event, which was anchored by Northern Ireland-born Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan, also heard messages of support from US President George Bush and EU President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Delegates were also addressed by a number of existing major North American investors, including Mike Zafirovski (Nortel), Jim Foster (Citi), John Spangler (Seagate) Brian Goggin (Bank of Ireland Security Services), Cathy Brune (Allstate), Stuart McGuigan (Liberty IT), and Bill Rohner (Caterpillar) who talked about the advantages of doing business in the Province.

Thanking them for their contributions, Mr Dodds said: “Many of these companies have not only invested, but have subsequently reinvested. In business, there is truly nothing better, and no better advocate, than a satisfied customer.’’

This, he said, was clearly evident from the announcement earlier in the day by NYSE Euronext that it is creating 75 new jobs and investing £3 million at its Wombat subsidiary operation in Belfast.

“Projects like this further enhance our reputation as a prime location for international investment,’’ he said.

Also addressing delegates, Employment and Learning Minister Sir Reg Empey spoke about his department’s commitment to working with investors to provide quality training, tailored to employers’ needs.

Sir Reg told delegates “Your business is our business. I know we can do business together.’’

President Bush’s Special Envoy on Northern Ireland Ambassador Paula J Dobriansky said Northern Ireland was a productive partner for business. She said the educated workforce, competitive cost environment and robust infrastructure had already led to 17 first-time US investments in software development, generating around $150m and creating over 1,500 jobs.

“Opportunities in Northern Ireland exist in every community and in numerous business sectors. This conference gave its many participants a chance to see the rich and diverse possibilities awaiting them as Northern Ireland steps forth into the global market place,” she said.