IRELAND’S Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath travelled to London this week to meet with British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt.
The pair, who met at 11 Downing Street, had met informally last week during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
During his two-day visit to the capital, which began on Wednesday, January 25 and concludes today, Minister McGrath also met with Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The Irish government recently contributed €4million to the EBRD’s Small Business Impact Fund to support Ukraine.
Yesterday morning, Minister McGrath met Mr Hunt, his UK counterpart, before meeting with the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey; the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Nicholas Lyons; and the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP.
Ahead of his visit, Minister McGrath said: “Ireland’s relationship with our neighbours and friends in the UK is and always will be a very important one, not least for our respective economies which are underpinned by strong bilateral trade flows between our two countries.”
He added that he would use the meetings to discuss that relationship, while “conscious of the ongoing efforts to resolve issues around the Protocol – efforts which must be given the necessary time and space to bear fruit”.
"Needless to say, I will also be discussing current political and economic issues at a time of great challenge in Europe and beyond," he confirmed.
