Tánaiste Simon Harris and Taoiseach Micheál Martin are in Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference, which will take place till Sunday, reports RTE.
More than 450 top decision makers, including several heads of state, as well as policy specialists, will attend the conference, which is recognised as the premier forum on international security policy in the world.
Participants in the discussion will include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and US Vice President JD Vance, reports RTE.
The Middle East crisis and the conflict in Ukraine will be major topics of discussion during this year’s conference.
The Taoiseach will take part in a discussion on global food security tomorrow that Mr. Zelensky is hosting.
Speaking ahead of the event, the Taoiseach said “Ireland is, and will remain militarily neutral, and that is well understood and respected. But this does not remove us from the discussion on how we meet the security risks faced by us all and how we keep ourselves safe, especially from new cyber and hybrid threats”, reports RTE.
Today’s agenda will focus on global security challenges such as the state of democracy in the world and climate security.
Strengthening Europe’s defence industry, advancing the use of clean energy technology and the new US administration’s Middle East policy are just some of the other topics on today’s agenda, r r
Talks will be also given this afternoon on the roles of the EU and the US in the world, by Ms von der Leyen and Mr Vance respectively.
Tomorrow, debates will focus on the state of the international order as well as regional wars and crises.
“I will be reiterating Ireland’s long-standing support for a robust rules-based international order, strong multinational institutions and our unambiguous commitment to international law and fundamental human rights,” said Mr Martin, r r
The Taoiseach stated that he intended to discuss global security concerns with other leaders, such as the Middle East crisis and Russia’s continuous war of aggression against Ukraine.
The Taoiseach stated that “there can be no agreement on Ukraine without Ukraine” in light of the actions taken this week by the newly elected Trump administration to press for peace negotiations with Russia in order to end the conflict, reports RTE.
Speaking before to the conference, Mr. Harris reaffirmed Ireland’s unwavering support for Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago.
“I’m still committed to working to ensure a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine,” he stated, reports RTE.
The execution of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement, as well as the ongoing need for humanitarian help in Gaza, would be topics of discussion during talks at the conference, according to both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste.
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