Minister McEntee welcomes German Minister for Foreign Affairs, Johann Wadephul to Ireland

Minister McEntee welcomes German Minister for Foreign Affairs, Johann Wadephul to Ireland

• From: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

• Published on: 22 April 2026
• Last updated on: 22 April 2026

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Helen McEntee TD, today (22 April) welcomed the German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Johann Wadephul to Dublin for discussions on Ireland's upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Ministers also reflected on the strength of Ireland's bilateral relationship with Germany and exchanged views on current international developments, including in Ukraine and the Middle East.

They also visited Siemens Healthineers, a German company with a presence in Swords since 1966, an example of Irish-German business collaboration.

Speaking about Ireland's relationship with Germany, Minister McEntee noted: "The German-Irish relationship is built around highly successful and dynamic trade and business exchanges. Germany is Ireland's largest trading partner in the European Union and our third largest trading partner globally. I am pleased to note that Irish companies employ almost 60,000 people in Germany, and German companies employ nearly 30,000 people in Ireland.

"This Government has invested significantly in our relationship with Germany, through our Embassy in Berlin as well as Consulates in Frankfurt and, more recently, in Munich, and this investment really shows in the strength of our bilateral exchanges.

"At a political level, our engagement has never been stronger, with the Taoiseach having just returned from a substantive meeting with the Chancellor in Berlin last week."

The Ministers had an in-depth discussion about Ireland's upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Minister McEntee said: "Germany will be our indispensable partner during our upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union and I look forward to working closely with Minister Wadephul and his colleagues in driving forward a positive European agenda."

Both Ministers exchanged views on current international developments, in particular on the situation in the Middle East and in Ukraine. Minister McEntee noted: "Minister Wadephul and I today reaffirmed our full support for Ukraine, which will be a foundational thread running throughout Ireland's EU Presidency."

On the Middle East, Minister McEntee said: "Both Ireland and Germany are strong supporters of the implementation of the two-State-solution. It is vital to ensure that its viability is preserved so that the goal of a peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis can be achieved. There must be no de facto annexation of the West Bank, and settlement expansion and settler violence must be halted.

"Today we took the opportunity to discuss how Ireland, Germany and the EU can work towards achieving this goal. Minister Wadephul and I were completely agreed on this point."

ENDS

Press Office

22 April 2026