merrion street

On the second day of his visit to France, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan TD, will today (Thursday) have a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart, Foreign Minister Jean Marc Ayrault.

Speaking in advance of the meeting, Minister Flanagan said:

"France is a key EU partner and my discussions with Foreign Minister Ayrault will be an important opportunity to set out again Ireland's unique concerns on Brexit in relation to the Northern Ireland peace process, the border and the common travel area."

"France is a valued partner for Ireland in the EU. I spoke to Minister Ayrault on the day the of the results of the U.K. referendum on 24 June and our respective governments had further discussions on Brexit during President Hollande's visit to Dublin in July. I look forward to sharing perspectives again with Minister Ayrault today."

"The horrific conflict in Syria remains high on the international agenda and this will be among the issues discussed at our meeting."

Yesterday (Tuesday) Minister Flanagan led an Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to Lyon.
Speaking after his visit to Pollutec, one of the world's largest clean-tech exhibitions, Minister Flanagan said:

"I was very impressed with the Irish companies from all around the country participating in the Pollutec exhibition in Lyon. The Cleantech sector is France is worth €7 billion per annum and presents huge opportunities to innovative Irish companies."

"I also had the opportunity to speak with French media, and French and Irish companies about trade and investment opportunities in Ireland and our commitment to increasing our trade with the world's sixth biggest economy in the time ahead."