{"id":129749,"date":"2024-09-07T16:05:09","date_gmt":"2024-09-07T16:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/07\/starmer-says-first-ireland-visit-as-pm-a-moment-for-reset-in-relations\/"},"modified":"2024-09-07T16:05:09","modified_gmt":"2024-09-07T16:05:09","slug":"starmer-says-first-ireland-visit-as-pm-a-moment-for-reset-in-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/07\/starmer-says-first-ireland-visit-as-pm-a-moment-for-reset-in-relations\/","title":{"rendered":"Starmer says first Ireland visit as PM a ‘moment for reset’ in relations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Starmer<\/div>


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Sir Keir Starmer has described his first official visit to Ireland as a “moment for reset” in relations between the UK and its closest neighbour.<\/p>\n

He met Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris at Farmleigh House, the official state guest house, in Dublin on Saturday – becoming the first British prime minister to visit the Republic of Ireland in five years.<\/p>\n

It comes after Mr Harris became the first international leader hosted by Sir Keir after he entered Downing Street following Labour’s election victory in July.<\/p>\n

During a roundtable in the afternoon, the two leaders discussed the framework for an annual trade and cooperation summit between Ireland and the UK.<\/p>\n

They said they had agreed the themes and structure of the first summit in March 2025, to be held every year thereafter.<\/p>\n

“There’s a huge amount of bilateral trade between our countries. That was why this is such an important relationship,” Sir Keir said.<\/p>\n

“Our economy, our markets, are intertwined and have been for a very long time. So, the foundation upon which we base this reset, I think, is strong.”<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n The two leaders walk in the grounds of Farmleigh House, the official Irish state guest house in Dublin. Pic: PA
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Read more
Tony Blair’s ‘despicable’ Grenfell comments<\/a>
Water bosses could face jail time<\/a>
Suspended Labour councillor denies charges<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Irish premier described the prime minister’s visit as a “really great honour”, adding that the time they had spent together so far was “really appreciated”.<\/p>\n

The two men “both wish to really place British-Irish relations on a new path”, he said.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir replied: “It’s a pleasure to be here, to have this opportunity that we will take to renew the friendship between our two countries. That reset, I think, can be meaningful, it can be deep.”<\/p>\n

Top of the agenda on his first visit as prime minister was trade across the Irish Sea – a relationship worth \u20ac100bn (\u00a384bn) a year that makes up thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \"The\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n The prime minister signs the official Irish state guest book in Dublin. Pic: PA
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Sir Keir said he is also seeking a “wider EU reset” with other leaders in the bloc, and wants a “closer relationship with the EU”, following on from recent visits to Berlin and Paris.<\/p>\n

He talked about the importance of “reducing the friction” between UK and Irish businesses post-Brexit and that of cooperation on defence and security.<\/p>\n

The international conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East will likely be discussed too – as protesters against UK arms sales to Israel gathered in Dublin city centre on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the two leaders will have meetings with various Irish businesses over the weekend – including Accenture, Keelings, and Primark, to encourage further trade and investment.<\/p>\n

Football shirt swap ahead of Ireland game<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back at Farmleigh House, nine-year-old Freddie Munnelly, who received medical treatment in the UK, presented the two leaders with Irish and English football scarves.<\/p>\n

The prime minister was also given an Irish football shirt with his name on it – while the Taoiseach was presented with an England jersey bearing his name.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n \"Sir\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Sir Keir Starmer and Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris exchange football shirts in Dublin on Saturday. Pic: PA
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The two men will attend the England v Ireland England Nations League football match at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin this evening.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir commented: “It will make an appearance in my nine-a-side. This will be proudly worn in north London before too long.”<\/p>\n

After shouts of “can we have Declan Rice back?” from a member of the public, Sir Keir replied: “No, absolutely not. He is fantastic.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sir Keir Starmer has described his first official visit to Ireland as a “moment for reset” in relations between the UK and its closest neighbour. He met Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris at Farmleigh House, the official state guest house, in Dublin on Saturday – becoming the first British prime minister to visit the Republic of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/09\/768x432\/skynews-sir-keir-starmer-simon-harris_6678860.jpg?20240907145845","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2375,5794,18167,27311,3960,1690],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129749"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129749"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129751,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129749\/revisions\/129751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}