The Taoiseach will meet with President Trump at the White House on Thursday.
Leo Varadkar commences the annual Saint Patrick’s Day visit of an Irish representative to the United States today, starting in Austin, Texas.
Austin is Varadkar’s first stop of a four-city programme, in which he will then visit Oklahoma, Washington DC and finally New York City.
Irish Government has said that the annual excursion offers opportunities to advance Ireland’s economic and political interests in the US as well as extending a hand of support and encouragement between the two historically-linked nations.
While in Austin, Mr Varadkar will attend the South by Southwest festival to promote Irish innovation. While there, he also has plans to meet the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, and representatives of the Irish community in Texas.
Monday will see the Taoiseach travel to the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma to recognise and appreciate the relief that the Choctaw tribe provided to Ireland during the Great Famine.
Tuesday sees him travel to Washington DC where he will deliver a foreign policy address to the Brookings Institution.
That same evening, both the Taoiseach and Senator George Mitchell will be keynote speakers at an event marking the 20th anniversary of the signing of Good Friday Agreement.
Senator George Mitchell had a pivotal role to play during these negotiations as Chairman of the Peace Negotiations and Special Advisor to President Bill Clinton on Ireland.
Wednesday’s agenda focuses on trade promotion.
Varadkar is set to meet with senior representatives of Irish companies doing well in the US market. As well as this, he’ll also be discussing the idea of promoting Ireland as an investment location with members of the US Chamber of Commerce.
Following this, he will address the annual American Ireland Fund Gala Dinner on Wednesday evening.
Thursday sees the day that Varadkar will meet US President Donald Trump. His agenda includes a bilateral meeting with Trump at the White House in the morning, followed by engagements on Capitol Hill. This includes the annual St Patrick’s Day lunch hosted by the Speaker of the House.
Varadkar’s plan while there is to use these opportunities to emphasise the strength of Irish-US relations and to highlight the case of the undocumented Irish.
After lunch, the traditional shamrock ceremony will take place as part of the White House Saint Patrick’s Day Reception.
The Taoiseach will be guest of honour at a breakfast hosted by Vice President Pence on the morning of 16 March.
The final leg of the journey brings the Taoiseach to New York on Friday.
There he will visit Manhattan, engaging with the media company, Bloomberg, and visiting the new Irish Arts Centre before meeting the representatives of the main Irish immigrant centres.
He will speak at a reception for the Irish community in New York and announce the launch of the New York Washington Ireland Program.
The visit concludes on Saturday, 17 March where Varadkar will meet with Mayor Bill de Blasio, attend the Saint Patrick’s Cathedral mass and finally walk in the Fifth Avenue parade.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
