He said Invest NI has been “very proactive”, including booking media in the US. The agency supports businesses in Northern Ireland and also works to attract investment to the region. Despite some friction caused to trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain by the Brexit protocol and the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Holland said “we start this year very positive” in terms of businesses wanting to create opportunity. Belfast Beat Newsletter Enter email address Sign Up “We have to make Northern Ireland work in 2021 and making it work means talking externally and explaining the benefits of being here, and certainly we have been very active in that in the first two months of this year and we will continue to do that,” he told MLAs.