The conflict in the Middle East has underscored the importance of maintaining strong ties between the United Kingdom and Ireland, Keir Starmer has said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin added that closer coordination between the two nations would help safeguard economic security, reports Breaking News.
The leaders met in Co Cork for the second UK-Ireland Summit.
Starmer was welcomed by Taoiseach Martin at Fota House ahead of a series of meetings with ministers from both governments, reports Breaking News.
Earlier, the two leaders visited the Tyndall National Institute, an electronics research centre at University College Cork.
After the visit, Starmer and Martin issued a joint statement outlining agreed actions in the areas of “shared prosperity, shared seas and shared ties”, reports Breaking News.
Speaking at the start of the summit, Martin said the cooperation between the two governments to address the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles “personifies the benefits of our relationship”.
He added: “We have an agreed memorandum of understanding in terms of defence and security which is very, very important where we are collectively working together in a collaborative way and a co-operative way, work to protect our sub-sea cables, our critical underwater infrastructure, the challenges on cyber attacks that affect us all and more general security issues, reports Breaking News.
“I think that level of co-ordination is very, very important to underpin and guarantee our economic security, but broader security in a very challenging and uncertain world.”
Starmer highlighted co-operation on trade and energy policies.
An interconnector between Wales and Ireland is expected to supply power to 570,000 homes and attract at least £740 million of private investment, reports Breaking News.
A separate energy link between Northern Ireland and Ireland aims to reduce electricity costs across the island.
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Sir Keir said: “We look at Ukraine … the conflict now in Iran, you can see when it comes to energy, our ability to collaborate and co-operate for energy security and bringing bills down and moving to renewables further and faster is critical, reports Breaking News.
“The context at the moment is one where we have to work ever more closely together as key partners.
“We are working together to protect our citizens who are in the Gulf, collaborating in the last two weeks to ensure that we can work together to get those citizens back to our respective countries, reports Breaking News.
“We can go further and we have the ambition to go further on defence and security, that is really important.
“Europe needs to do more, we need to step up on defence and security, we all need to spend more but that has got to be co-ordinated, we’ve got to collaborate otherwise we won’t get strategically what we need when it comes to defence and security, reports Breaking News.
“I do think in light of the conflict in Iran it is really important that we work ever more closely together.”
On Thursday, Sir Keir said that more than £900 million of new Irish investment in the UK was part of the “flourishing” ties between the two countries.
The £937 million in new investment from Irish companies is expected to create roughly 850 jobs across London, Doncaster, South Wales, and Scotland, covering sectors such as gas networks, AI and cloud computing, and financial services, reports Breaking News.
The Government of Ireland was represented by Tánaiste and Finance Minister Simon Harris, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence Minister Helen McEntee, Energy and Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien, and Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan.
The first UK-Ireland Summit took place in Liverpool in March last year, forming part of what the Taoiseach and Prime Minister described as a “reset” in relations, which enabled greater co-operation on projects through to 2030, reports Breaking News.
The 2026 programme included a business roundtable, a civic and cultural reception, engagement with the Ireland-UK Youth Forum Advisory Group, and a research-focused visit.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds, and Business Secretary Peter Kyle, reports Breaking News.
Sir Keir and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn met with the region’s political parties on Thursday.
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