Tánaiste holds call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio

This afternoon, the Tánaiste Simon Harris spoke with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

After the call, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade said: “I spoke this afternoon with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. I took the opportunity to congratulate him on his appointment and we agreed on the strength of our bilateral relationship, rooted in the more than 30 million Americans who proudly claim Irish heritage. I thanked the Secretary of State on behalf of the people of Ireland for the bipartisan support that the United States has always offered in support of peace and prosperity on our island.

"We agreed on the mutually beneficial nature of the dynamic US-Ireland relationship today, which we look forward to celebrating across the United States during our St Patrick’s Day programmes. Ireland is the 6th largest investor in the United States, with the top ten Irish companies alone in the US employing 115,000 people.”

The Tánaiste added: “I discussed a range of global issues with Secretary Rubio, including Ukraine and the Middle East. On Ukraine, I updated him on the package of €100 million that I brought to Government today to provide non-lethal military support for Ukraine. I emphasised the vital importance for Ireland and our European partners of defending Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"On the Middle East, I thanked the US for its intensive engagement on the Israel/Palestine ceasefire negotiations, and noted the essential need for humanitarian aid to flow to civilians in Gaza and for all hostages to be released.”