"NORTHERN Ireland must unlock the potential of the private sector in order for the country to develop a strong economy." That's the message the Northern Ireland Exporters Association delivered to guests of the official launch on Tuesday in Belfast.

Robert Hamilton, appointed director of the group said Northern Ireland's "high dependence on the public sector" was not only "distorting" but in the long run "unsustainable".

"With a feeling of ambivalence from the British electorate to the problems of Northern Ireland, coupled with a potentially skeptical Prime Minister in Gordon Brown and many other disadvantaged regions across the UK clambering for funds , the high levels of subsidisation of the North will not continue indefinitely," Mr Hamilton warned. "Unless the private sector picks up the slack, the economy will falter. The resulting economic hardship could provide conditions conductive to a relapse into violence.

"As the South experienced unprecedented growth, a resurgent sector and a deep integration into the global economy, the North's core structural weakness of dependency on the public sector and on Britain remain – despite a notable peace dividend following the Good Friday Agreement."

The NIEA was created by the Irish Exporters Association in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Institute of Export to increase international trade in both economies. It will mirror the work of the Irish Exporters Association in the North for its members.

Joe Lynch of the Irish Exporters Association, said NIEA will help companies trading internationally from both sides of the border.

"Both organisations will work in conjunction with one another to combine the strength of exporters from the entire island of Ireland which will go some way in influencing the strategic priorities of governments – North and South – with the primary objective of ensuring a competitive base from which to trade."