DUBLIN/LONDON: Keir Starmer will go to Dublin on Saturday, the first visit to the Republic of Ireland by a British Prime Minister for five years, as his new government seeks to improve relations with its nearest neighbor and other members of the European Union.
Next week, he will visit Washington for talks that are expected to touch on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and other issues.
After his Labour Party won a July election to return to power for the first time since 2010, Starmer has sought better co-operation with EU countries, looking to improve diplomatic ties and trading relations without revisiting the fundamental basis of Britain’s departure from the bloc.
Britain’s 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU put particular strain on Anglo-Irish relations, as trading rules governing Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom and has a land border with Ireland, became the major sticking point for a deal.
Starmer hosted his Irish counterpart Simon Harris in July, shortly after an election result which has also been seen in Dublin as the opportunity for a reset in relations.
“Our relationship has never reached its full potential, but I want to change that. We have a clear opportunity to go further and faster to make sure our partnership is fully delivering,” Starmer said in a statement ahead of the visit.
“(Harris) and I are in lockstep about our future, and we look forward to deepening our collaboration further.”
The two will meet businesses before watching a soccer match between the Republic of Ireland and England later in the day.
A match between the two sides in Dublin in 1995 — played three years before the Good Friday Agreement which largely ended three decades of violence in Northern Ireland — was abandoned due to a riot. However, a 2015 fixture between the teams passed off without significant incident.
White House talks
On Friday, Joe Biden will host Starmer as the US president looks to step up engagement on the international stage in his final months in office.
US allies and adversaries are also intently watching how the race to succeed Biden between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump plays out.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the visit, the second by Starmer since he was elected earlier this summer, will focus on continuing Western support for Ukraine as it tries to repel Russia’s invasion, ongoing efforts to secure a hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea posed by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed group, as well as shared concerns about the Indo-Pacific.
Starmer visited the White House two months ago for one-on-one talks with Biden when he was in Washington for the NATO Summit.
