“The Prime Minister and I are committed to harnessing the potential of our partnership to deliver economic, political and social benefits for people across these islands.

“Tomorrow’s inaugural UK-Ireland Summit is the first in a series of annual summits through which we will drive a new programme of strategic cooperation forward. The United Kingdom is a key strategic partner for Ireland and I welcome the renewed shared ambition to reach the potential of our partnerships across our islands.

“The UK and Ireland are close economic partners with a bilateral trade relationship worth approximately 100 billion euros annually. Ireland is the UK’s 6th largest trading partner and the UK is Ireland’s second largest trading partner and we are committed to building on these ties in order to attract new investment and accelerate economic growth across our two countries.

“Following our Summit, we will establish UK-Ireland SME dialogue to nurture growth and productivity amongst our SMEs.

“The UK and Ireland have a longstanding partnership in sharing knowledge and experience in progressing infrastructure projects. This will be recognised in a new Framework for Co-operation to support Infrastructure Delivery which will deepen these partnerships in areas such as housing, transport and energy infrastructure.

“Our partnership has always drawn its strength from our people-to-people connections, and at the Summit we will discuss establishing a new Ireland-UK Youth Forum, passing on the gift of partnership to the next generation, as well as our plans to encourage greater co-operation and contact between our schools and education systems, and our plans for forthcoming major sporting events EURO2028 and the 2030 T20 Cricket World Cup that we will-co-host.

“In recognition of the strong cultural ties between our two countries we have agreed to establish a strategic partnership to deepen and amplify co-operation between our leading cultural institutions and to support wider public engagement with the contemporary culture and heritage of both our countries.

“Our collaboration on research recognises our close bilateral relationship in science, innovation and technology including through our collaboration within the current Horizon European Research and Innovation Framework Programme. We will work together, and with the Northern Ireland Executive, to identify future opportunities to bring together researchers and innovators building on the existing Co-Centres for Climate, Biodiversity and Water, and for Sustainable Food Systems.

“We will discuss our shared Common Travel Area and recognise its importance in facilitating the daily lives of citizens across these islands and commit to its continued integrity and security.

“There is good cooperation between us on energy, and I am particularly delighted that, following this Summit, in recognition of critical importance of the Celtic and Irish Seas, we will take that cooperation to a higher level and look to work together to harness the potential for cooperation on offshore energy and interconnection, including a new joint initiative to map the sea basin to improve interoperability.

“I am delighted also that the UK and Ireland will commit to ensure the successful delivery of the current Peaceplus programme and will confirm our agreement in principle to a successor programme.

“Following our Summit tomorrow, the Prime Minister and I will publish a Joint Statement which will represent the starting point for a strengthened relationship between the UK and Ireland, informed by our co-guarantorship of the Good Friday Agreement. The Joint Statement will be taken forward by both governments through to 2030 through a wide-ranging, ambitious programme of new and enhanced strategic cooperation between Ireland and the UK. It is a substantive and ambitious document which genuinely brings cooperation between our two governments to a new strategic level.

“This renewal of our Irish British partnership takes place against the backdrop of a changing and uncertain world making the significance of a stronger and more settled relationship between us more important than ever. Tomorrow, I will travel to Brussels for a Special European Council focussed on the situation in Ukraine and European Defence. This UK-Ireland Summit has been a timely moment also for the Prime Minister and I to reflect on our solidarity with Ukraine at this crucial moment for European security and in a rapidly evolving context.”