British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Dublin on Saturday for the first visit by a British head of government to Ireland in five years, expected to confirm a “new era” in relations between the two countries, which have been battered by Brexit.
The Labour leader was received by his Irish counterpart Simon Harris at his Farmleigh House residence.
The latter said he was “very happy that British-Irish relations are on new tracks” in a statement to the press.
“Today we will probably try to define what a reset” of bilateral relations actually looks like, he said, adding that they should be based on “peace, prosperity, mutual respect and friendship.”
For his part, Keir Starmer considered this visit to be “really important” for his government.
“It is a pleasure to be here and to have this opportunity to renew the friendship between our countries,” adding that this “new beginning” in bilateral relations “can be significant” and “profound.”
The two leaders are due to discuss the war in Ukraine and support for kyiv, the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and the development of trade and economic relations between Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Before their meeting, the two men exchanged football jerseys of their respective national teams in front of the cameras. They will later attend the Nations League match between England and Ireland on Saturday.
Before Keir Starmer’s arrival in Dublin, London had described in a statement the visit as marking “a new era of cooperation and friendship” between the two countries.
“Our relationship has never reached its full potential, but I want to change that,” Keir Starmer was quoted as saying in the statement.
The last British Prime Minister to visit Ireland was Boris Johnson in 2019, in the midst of Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels.
– Northern Ireland –
But since Labour’s Keir Starmer took office in Downing Street in July, and to some extent already under his Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak, relations between the two countries have warmed somewhat.
Simon Harris, who became Taioseach (the official title of the Irish head of government) in April, was the first foreign leader received by Keir Starmer after coming to power.
He had been invited to Chequers, the country residence of British prime ministers, shortly before a meeting of European leaders near Oxford.
The two leaders then assured that the “time had come to reset the partnership” between the two nations, after the Brexit referendum of 2016.
The UK’s exit from the European Union had been widely seen as a source of destabilisation in relations between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland, raising concerns in Dublin.
Keir Starmer has notably promised to review a controversial law, adopted by the Conservatives and aimed at ending investigations into crimes linked to the period of the Troubles, as the decades of conflict in Northern Ireland were modestly called.
It came into force in May and led to an appeal by Ireland against London before the European Court of Human Rights.
On Saturday, Keir Starmer and Simon Harris notably reaffirmed their commitment to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 which put an end to decades of violence in Northern Ireland.
In Dublin, the British Prime Minister is also due to meet with business leaders and players in the Irish economic world, in order to promote trade and investment between the two countries.
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