McAleese, Ahern to meet Jimmy Carter

Former US president Jimmy Carter will tomorrow meet President Mary McAleese before holding talks with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern …

Former US president Jimmy Carter will tomorrow meet President Mary McAleese before holding talks with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Dublin.

The 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner is in Ireland to speak at the annual Human Rights Forum on Tuesday. Mr Carter (83) will also sign an agreement between Irish Aid and the Carter Centre, the foundation he founded to promote global health, democracy and human rights.

The retired peanut farmer and his wife Rosalynn will tomorrow pay a courtesy call on both the President and the Taoiseach.

The 39th US president served one term in the White House from 1977-1981 but was defeated by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election.

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Mr Carter has since travelled extensively to monitor international elections, conduct peace negotiations and establish relief efforts.

He was the 76th Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975.

Coincidentally, senior politicians from Georgia are paying a two-day economic and diplomatic visit to Ireland and Northern Ireland this week. Current Governor Sonny Perdue will also meet the Taoiseach tomorrow along with the Lieutenant Governor of Georgia and the Commissioner of Economic Development.

The Governor is due to attend a reception hosted by the Georgia Tech Ireland research facility in Athlone. Georgia companies such as Coca-Cola, UPS and Georgia-Pacific have significant investments in Ireland.

The economic hub of the southeastern US, Georgia's exports to Ireland reached 121 million euro in 2006, the state's 12th-biggest export market.