Ties between Greater Manchester and the USA appear to be going from strength to strength as their ambassador to the UK made a visit to the city today (March 27). Ambassador Jane Hartley met with Mayor Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig as well as business leaders in her first UK visit outside of London.
This follows Mr Burnham and Coun Craig's visit to the US earlier this month where they struck an historic trade deal with the state of North Carolina and with a US banking giant in New York to discuss its Manchester office expansion plans. Ambassador Hartley was met with sunshine as she visited the statue of Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln Square before a business round table in Spinningfields with senior representatives of US companies with a presence in Manchester and Manchester companies with a significant US presence.
All three hailed the visit as significant with the ambassador speaking very highly of the city and the future relationship Greater Manchester can have with its counterparts in the US. "I'm thrilled to be here, it's always sunny in Manchester!" Ambassador Hartley said.
READ MORE: The huge Manchester Day parade is SCRAPPED - in favour of day and night event in the city
"I've had some fantastic meetings here and they (Mr Burnham and Coun Craig) have told me about the amazing things they did in New York. It shows what we can do together.
"It's such a dynamic city with great leadership and great companies. There is great local leadership and there is so much innovation here, whether that's in tech, or climate change, or green innovation, it's coming from a local level.
"Looking at everything that is happening here, it's really interesting, and quite a few American companies have set up here too which is very positive. It's a fantastic city so hopefully more American companies will come here, it's beautiful."
Andy Burnham said he was delighted for the ambassador to be visiting the city in an historic spot for US/Manchester relations, adding: "We've had great conversations about what we were doing and did in the US. I have already met a number of US companies looking to invest here now. Bank of New York Mellon recently confirmed that Manchester will be one of its six strategic sites across the world. We are confident in increasing our activity in the US market which is also investing in its cities as the UK is doing now."
Coun Craig added: "It's been a very exciting time. With visiting the States ourselves and the ambassador being here today it's clear to myself and Andy (Burnham) given where we are as a city leadership going forward we can continue to create relationships in the US and Canada.
"There are many Manchester born businesses operating in the US and US businesses coming here which is very exciting. Hopefully we can work together even more and create even more opportunities for people."
Manchester's Abraham Lincoln statue was originally put up in 1919 in Platt Field's Park, Fallowfield, before being relocated to Lincoln Square in 1986. In 2021, a renovation of Lincoln Square has given the opportunity to clean the statue and place it on a new plinth and explanatory plaque.
Lincoln's connection with Manchester started in the 1860s when he became American's 16th president. He led the Union to victory in the Civil War and wrote to Manchester's civic leaders in 1863 thanking them for their support and solidarity during that war.
Manchester's solidarity was shown by refusing to use cotton picked by slaves in the southern states despite the fortunes being made in textile mills across the city at that time. This came at a great sacrifice to much of the north which relied on this cotton with Lincoln acknowledging this in his letter thanking the 'working men of Manchester' for their 'sublime Christian heroism, which has not been surpassed in any age or in any country'.
Ambassador Hartley made sure to recognise the statue's symbolic importance for today's visit saying it provided 'no better illustration of US and UK shared history and values'.
For more of today's top stories click here.
READ NEXT:
Victim of fatal shooting had previously been jailed for breaking a woman's jaw in a nightclub row
Another weekend of bloodshed after one fatal shooting and three people stabbed
Shocking moment teacher appears to throw student out of classroom and onto floor
Man and woman DENY murder after Liam Smith killed in shooting and acid attack
GMP officer in charge of cadet unit 'used scheme as a grooming playground,' court hears
