President McAleese will travel to Liberia next week to visit Irish peackeeping troops.
The Irish troops form part of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the biggest UN peacekeeping force in the world, made up of 15,000 soldiers. The mission has helped disarm more than 95,000 fighters since the end of the civil war.
The President will tour the Camp Clara where the troops are based and meet members of the Irish battalion who are drawn primarily from 1 Southern Brigade, Munster. After laying a wreath at the camp's UN memorial, the President will have lunch with the troops and present Christmas cards to the soldiers from their families in Ireland.
As part of her visit to Liberia, President McAleese will also meet with representatives of Concern, Trocaire, the Irish Red Cross and UNICEF who are involved in humanitarian aid efforts in the region. The President will also call on Mr Charles Gyude Bryant, Chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia, who recently visited Ireland.