Tajani Met with Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Defence Helen McEntee

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani met today at the Foreign Ministry with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Defence of the Republic of Ireland, Helen McEntee.

The meeting focused on key European issues, particularly in view of Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2026. The two Ministers discussed the priorities of the European agenda, with particular reference to the Union's competitiveness and the EU enlargement process, considered a strategic investment for Europe's stability and security. In that context, Tajani invited Minister McEntee to join the "Friends of the Balkans" meeting, traditionally chaired by Italy in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's high-level week in New York.

Ministers Tajani and McEntee also shared the need to strengthen European economic security and support the strengthening of the European defence industry in the current geopolitical context.

During the meeting, the Ministers reaffirmed their firm support for Ukraine on the political, military, and humanitarian levels.

The two Ministers also addressed the main regional crises, with particular reference to developments in Lebanon and a post-UNIFIL international presence, and in the Gulf region, including the need to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the need to advance the Rome Coalition's efforts to ensure unfettered access for fertilizers.

They also discussed the situation in the Palestinian Territories, expressing deep concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where full access to humanitarian aid for the civilian population needs to be ensured, as well as for settlers' violence, also against the Christian community, and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

The meeting confirmed the excellent state of bilateral relations between Italy and Ireland, including economic and trade relations.

In 2025, trade reached €13.2 billion, a 19.7% increase compared to 2024, confirming increasingly solid and dynamic economic relations, supported by the presence in Ireland of over 100 Italian companies operating in the financial and insurance, pharmaceutical, food, and energy sectors. Also in light of these relations, the two Ministers agreed to organize a Business Forum to further strengthen cooperation between companies from the two countries.