The Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Cowen is having a working lunch with his French counterpart Mr Hubert Védrine in France today.
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Mr Brian Cowen
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They are expected to discuss the
Brahini Report
, a new proposal by the UN on the roles of peacekeeping missions and ways to improve them.
Mr Cowen is also expected to discuss security in the Western Balkans and the attacks on Iraq by US and British warplanes.
Ireland has expressed its concern over the attacks saying it "regrets very much that the use of force was deemed necessary". It advocated "every step be taken to avoid its further use".
Mr Cowen will take this opportunity to exchange information about security in the Middle East and Northern Ireland, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said.
Next week Mr Cowen will meet US Defence Secretary Mr Colin Powell and President Bush’s national security adviser Ms Condoleeza Rice.
He is expected to tell them Ireland wants to see the sanctions against Iraq lifted though a Department statement issued today said: "Iraq must demonstrate - with concrete evidence - its peaceful intentions."
The talks are part of a series of scheduled meetings resulting from Ireland’s election to the UN security council.