Alliance of science in supply chain.

TWO of the region's biggest sector organisations have struck a new alliance to target international markets.

NOF Energy - which represents the oil, gas and nuclear sectors - and Northern Defence Industries (NDI) will join together in market visits for members to meet with the supply chains of the energy, defence and aerospace sectors in Turkey and India in 2010.

In addition, the two organisations will collaborate on joint industry events and share industry intelligence that will benefit members.

Both organisations provide complementary business support services and sector intelligence to support the business development strategies of their members.

NDI supports more than 200 companies to match the procurement requirements of the global defence, security and aerospace industry.

It also provides support to the Ministry of Defence, global prime contractors and tier one integrators in establishing relationships with the supply network.

NOF Energy works to promote UK suppliers to the global energy market, through comprehensive business support services for its members.

In addition to identifying new opportunities and facilitating co-operation between businesses, NOF Energy also acts as a gateway to the UK supply chain for international companies who can benefit from the high quality products and services available from the UK.

Neil Kirkbride, chairman of NOF Energy, said: "The North-east has a reputation for quality engineering and support services, which will be championed by the organisations in new and existing markets." David Bowles, chairman of NDI, added: "Working more closely together, NOF Energy and NDI will be able to deliver even more support to these companies to secure real business."