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Taoiseach to attend British-Irish Council Summit in Stirling Castle
Friday 22 June 2012
The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, TD will attend the British Irish Council (BIC) Summit being hosted by Scotland in Stirling Castle today (Friday, 22 June 2012). The Taoiseach will be accompanied by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, TD.
The BIC was established under the Good Friday Agreement to promote the special relationships between the eight Member Administrations in these islands. The Scottish Summit will be the eighteenth to be held since the inaugural meeting of the BIC in 1999.
The main focus of the Summit will be a discussion by member Administrations on developments in their respective economies and on actions being taken across all the Administrations to tackle the current challenges including youth unemployment.
The Taoiseach will give an overview of recent developments in the Irish economy and outline Ireland’s path to economic recovery, as well as focusing on the close links between the economies of these islands.
There will also be a detailed discussion on opportunities around Marine Energy, one of the key work streams being progressed under the BIC.
Since the last summit was hosted by the Taoiseach in Dublin in January, the Standing Secretariat of the BIC has been established in Edinburgh.
A Communiqué will issue from the BIC at the conclusion of the Summit.
The Taoiseach will also have a separate meeting with Alex Salmond, the Scottish First Minister which will focus on the positive bilateral relations between both countries.
ENDS