Visit by Foreign Minister Schetyna to Dublin, 6 July

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charles Flanagan, welcomed Poland's Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna to Dublin today for consultations on issues of shared interest.

This meeting was part of Ireland's ongoing dialogue with Poland on the EU agenda and international issues. Connections and partnership with Poland are increasingly important for Ireland. Our countries, with two of the fastest growing economies in Europe, have shared interests and common ground within the EU and beyond, and trade is growing by around 20% annually.

The Ministers had a wide-ranging discussion on issues of shared concern in the EU and its neighbourhood, including migration and Ukraine.

The Ministers also discussed the strengthening and deepening of the connections between the people of Ireland and Poland, and the valuable role of the Polish community in Ireland in this, as well as that of Poles who have returned to Poland from Ireland. Minister Flanagan said "Polish people who have lived, worked or studied in Ireland and returned home are also building bridges between our two countries". He briefed Minister Schetyna on the Embassy's Network Irlandii initiative, which connects these Poles.