Emma Little-Pengelly, the deputy first minister, has stated that US President Donald Trump showed “a huge amount of interest in Northern Ireland,” reports Breaking News.
At a gathering at the US Capitol on Wednesday, Mr. Trump met with Assembly Speaker Edwin Poots, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, and Ms. Little-Pengelly.
Following the Friends of Ireland luncheon, Ms. Little-Pengelly told the PA news agency: “I had a really good conversation with the President.” Naturally, we began by talking about Ukraine and the necessity of finding a peaceful solution to that problem, reports Breaking News.
“But of course, we moved on to talk about Northern Ireland. He showed a huge amount of interest in Northern Ireland, a recognition of Northern Ireland – particularly the golf, it has to be said, reports Breaking News.
“We talked about the longstanding relationship that the US has had with Northern Ireland has been obviously beneficial to Northern Ireland, but I think mutually beneficial to both jurisdictions,” reports Breaking News.
The US and Northern Ireland have a “two-way flow” of commerce, according to Ms. Little-Pengelly, who also stated: “We talked very much about how to continue that constructive relationship moving forward.”
In the face of an intensifying trade war, the deputy first minister stated that it is critical that individuals in Washington, DC, be “speaking up for Northern Ireland.”
Asked if she discussed the impact on Northern Ireland of the ongoing EU-US trade dispute with the President, she said: “I think understandably in this type of meeting, you don’t get into the absolute detail of any of that, but I have taken the opportunity this week to raise it with a number of people, both politically in terms of up on the Hill but also with, for example, Lord Mandelson, who is the new UK ambassador to the US,” reports Breaking News.
“I think it’s really important that those key people around DC understand the nuances of this because it’s, of course, understandable if Northern Ireland may not be the top of their agenda when they’re talking about the relationship between the US and the EU and what potentially could be a punitive trade war. So I want to make sure that the right people know the detail of this and are speaking up for Northern Ireland,” reports Breaking News.
Speaking to PA outside the US Capitol, she added: “For me, this trip has very much been about showing up, standing up and speaking up for Northern Ireland. I do believe that it is right to be here to do that because this is an important time, and there are consequences for Northern Ireland, of course, if this goes wrong,” reports Breaking News.
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