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Minister of State for European Affairs, Helen McEntee, to embark on two day visit to Germany
Minister of State for European Affairs, Helen McEntee, will travel to Germany for a two day visit to Dusseldorf and Berlin on 24 and 25 July. During her visit Minister McEntee will meet with her German counterpart Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth. Minister McEntee will also meet with Irish state agencies, the Irish community and with representatives from the North Rhine-Westphalia region.
Speaking ahead of her visit Minister McEntee said:
My visit to Germany follows visits earlier this year by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Minister for Education and Skills. It is an ideal opportunity to visit not only Berlin but another major city, Düsseldorf. The visit is part of a commitment made in our new strategy, “Ireland in Germany: A Wider and Deeper Footprint”, to strengthen our ties with key federal states. Düsseldorf is in North Rhine-Westphalia, a federal state with a population of almost 18 million and an important centre of the Mittelstand, the backbone of the German economy.
During my visit I will meet with Irish State Agencies including Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia to learn more of their work in developing trade between Ireland and Germany. Germany is an important trading partner with Ireland with annual trade worth around €29 billion. Germany is Ireland’s 4th largest goods trading partner and Ireland’s 5th largest export market for Irish food and drink.
The visit also offers an opportunity to give the Government’s assessment of the current state-of-play in the Brexit negotiations. Our EU partners, including Germany, have consistently made clear their support for Ireland in the negotiations and have stressed that there can be no Withdrawal Agreement without agreement on a backstop to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Minister McEntee will also meet with the Irish community in both Dusseldorf and Berlin. Minister McEntee concluded by saying:
Our Diaspora play a hugely important role in the perception of Ireland abroad. They play important roles in their in their communities and workplaces around the world and I very much look forward to meeting with them. I will be listening to them, to learn about their lives and thoughts about Ireland and how we can continue to improve our engagement around Europe.