Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has taken a tour of Northern Ireland’s industrial past as well as learning about a current leading sector during a one-day visit.

Mr Zahawi flew in to meet with the Utility Regulator and Stormont ministers in Belfast to discuss delivering an energy bill discount to households in the region.

His day of engagements also included a trip to the Titanic Belfast attraction which chronicles the story of the ill-fated liner as well as the city’s historical strength for ship building.

Nadhim Zahawi visit to Belfast
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi at Titanic Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA)

Earlier in the day, he learned more about how cybersecurity has become one of the region’s strongest sectors in current times.

He met with the Queen’s University vice-chancellor Professor Ian Greer and Professor Máire O’Neill, director of the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT), as well as viewing the Cyber Range and Anechoic Chamber.

Mr Greer said Queen’s has helped to put Northern Ireland on the map for digital innovation.

“The cybersecurity sector in Northern Ireland continues to grow from strength to strength and the University has ambitious plans for the future,” he said.

“We are on course to open our Global Innovation Institute in 2025 as part of the Belfast Region City Deal. This will be an expansion of ECIT and is a huge opportunity for the people of Northern Ireland and all of our industry partners.

“Through cutting-edge research, experts at Queen’s are continuing to develop solutions to real world problems on our doorstop, which has a positive impact right across the globe.”

Ms O’Neill added: “The expansion of ECIT through the new £58 million Global Innovation Institute will see more than 550 multi-disciplinary experts on site, building on our core expertise across cyber security, advanced wireless technologies, data science/analytics.”