AS I watched the Queen’s Speech last week, I was not surprised in the least by the subject of the EU Referendum, writes James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC).

Due to our region’s reputation for exporting globally and within the EU, we will want to see the best possible deal for British business from the period of renegotiation so we can make a strong case to remain in the EU.

It should be a source of great pride that we in the North-East still have the ability, lost in so many other areas of the UK, to make things and sell it. Usually overseas.

It is true we have a relatively small number of high-volume exporters that provide a boost to our statistics, but they are still goods manufactured in our region by North-East workers and sold to foreign markets.

But more must be done to get our small and medium-sized firms selling into overseas markets.

NECC is delivering the UKTI’s export support service for the region and hopefully by pulling together the offers of our organisations, we will provide an export “one stop shop” that will prove invaluable.

It’s a familiar mantra of mine that we remain the most successful exporting region in the country.

Our manufacturing prowess, coupled with our growing ability to sell our products and services overseas, sets the North-East apart.

We have got a really great story to tell about what our region can offer to the country.

We’re a critical part of the UK’s economy and if we are to be at the forefront of a Northern Powerhouse, our region must be empowered to deliver more.

But rather than jump in, we must agree what powers we wish to receive and what we would do with them.

Devolution must take a sensible approach, recognising that the North-East is in a global marketplace.

We have a huge amount of economic assets here that the UK is not making the most of.

Policies and investment are not suited to what we have to offer and devolution could be a way of unlocking that.

There is much to consider at the moment: the Northern Powerhouse; potential devolution of the UK; an EU Referendum.

It may be a time of uncertainty for some but one thing for certain is that we must ensure the North-East is at the centre of negotiations and that our region benefits as much as possible in order for it to reach its potential.