BANGOR – A delegation of civic, university and government leaders from northwestern Northern Ireland will visit the Bangor area next month.

The main purpose of the visit, set for Dec. 1-3, is to explore business opportunities in the Bangor area and eastern Maine and to initiate and further a research and development collaboration with area research institutions.

The visit also will highlight a new era of cooperation in the northwest region of Northern Ireland, where several communities are working together to promote economic development.

The 13-member delegation will include representatives of the Coleraine Borough Council, Derry City Council, University of Ulster and Invest Northern Ireland, the country’s top business development agency.

The visit will include meetings with Bangor Mayor Nichi Farnham and City Manager Edward Barrett, University of Maine President Peter Hoff, and events hosted by the city of Bangor, GE Power Systems, the University of Maine, The Jackson Laboratory, Eastern Maine Development Corp., MBNA, and area information technology firms.

“We are looking forward to meeting the delegation from Northern Ireland to explore business opportunities that will mutually benefit our two areas,” Farnham said.

“In addition to new, potential civic linkages, the visit will emphasize establishing connections between biotechnology and information technology businesses in both areas,” she said. “Our goal is to create a long-term alliance between the Bangor-eastern Maine and northwest Northern Ireland regions.”

Wavell Moore, chief executive of the Coleraine Borough Council and a driving force behind the Northern Ireland visit to Maine, sees this as a major opportunity to establish a new relationship and open the door to business.

“There are real opportunities for trade and investment through growing a relationship with Maine, including the opportunity for strategic alliances and joint ventures between our respective biotechnology and IT sectors,” he said.

“This is only the starting point. Follow-up efforts will be critical to sustaining the relationship and producing results from the visit,” Moore added.

Manuel Associates, a Washington, D.C.- and Maine-based international consulting firm, is organizing the Maine visit on behalf of Coleraine Borough and Derry city councils, the University of Ulster and Invest Northern Ireland, and with the assistance of numerous Bangor area institutions.