March 12 (UPI) — Vice President JD Vance met with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin for breakfast Wednesday in Washington ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House. Martin, also kown as Ireland’s taoiseach, spoke highly of the Trump administration’s efforts regarding the war between Ukraine and Russia during the meeting. He said that “progress has clearly been made” as a result of an “unrelenting focus and effort” to secure peace.
He also said that the United States “has been a steadfast friend of Ireland for centuries”. Vance returned the sentiment, noting the relationship between the two countries is “one of the great alliances and great friendships between nations.”
The upcoming meeting with Trump is expected to focus on Ireland’s economy, which relies a great deal on American multinational companies. The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, or AmCham Ireland, reports that American companies directly employ 211,000 people in Ireland and indirectly affect 168,000 jobs, and that Ireland acts “as the gateway to Europe for U.S. companies.”
Ireland is also the sixth-largest investor in the U.S., and there are currently 970 American companies in the country, However, Ireland is also part of the EU, which is imposing retaliatory tariffs of 26 billion worth of American goods next month, a move made after Trump put a 25% levy on all European steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. .
Martin said his visit to the Oval Office will be used to make special mention of the “increasingly two-way” trade and investment relationship,” between the two nations.