IRELAND’S VOICE ABROAD As Head of State, an important part of the President’s role is to represent Ireland on the world stage. President Higgins has made it his aim to engage with Irish people worldwide. On his foreign visits during 2019 to Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Lebanon, the United Kingdom and the United States – President Higgins met with representatives from a diverse range of Irish people and organisations, thanking them for their efforts and expressing his appreciation for the way Irish people continue to represent Ireland abroad. During the year, President Higgins continued his work strengthening Ireland’s international reputation, and highlighting the importance of increased global cooperation to address the challenges of our time. At his meetings with international organisations, President Higgins re-affirmed Ireland’s commitment to the international, rules-based, multilateral system, arguing that, as a small State, Ireland’s sovereignty and economic well-being is enhanced, not diminished, by our participation in international organisations. In September 2019, President Higgins addressed the United Nations General Assembly, to underscore the importance that Ireland attaches to the UN and the multilateral system, and to call for urgent action on global challenges such as climate change and the promotion of peace.
Wreath laying on Martyrs’ Square in Beirut, October 2019
In his speech, the President said that Ireland had anchored its foreign policy to the UN, which the President called a “special institution where newly free nations found a home after their struggles for independence, their emergence from the shadows, legacies and distortions of imperialism.” During his visit to the UN, President Higgins had over 20 bilateral meetings with other Heads of State or Government. Later in the year, in October, the President met with 13 fellow non-executive Presidents, at a meeting in Athens of the Arraiolos Group of Presidents of EU Member States.
Meeting UN peacekeepers in Cyprus, October 2019
20 2019 IN REVIEW
