Helen McEntee to chair Trade ForumBy Cillian Sherlock, Press AssociationMinisterial visits to the US and elsewhere for St Patrick’s Day are part of a plan to “double down” on international trade promotion, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has said. Helen McEntee is to chair the Government Trade Forum for the first time on Friday. The forum is meeting for the 10th time since it was established last year an will discuss the action plan for market diversification and trade promotion. Ms McEntee said: “Ireland has been and is committed to working closely with our EU and wider European partners in response to these issues.”She said trade promotion plans for 2026 includes “State engagements across the globe during the St Patrick’s Day celebrations”. She added: “Recent events have shown the need for us to double down on our efforts and our St Patrick’s Day programme will reflect that with a heavy emphasis on economic and trade promotion.”The meeting will also be attended by the Tánaiste and Minister of Finance, Simon Harris TD, as well as Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers.

Source: Irish Independent January 23, 2026 07:25 UTC