MINISTER FOR Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin is due to meet Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus today on the first leg of a Middle East trip that will focus on recent developments in the region, including last month’s conflict in Gaza, and bilateral ties with the United Arab Emirates.
Speaking before he left Ireland yesterday, Mr Martin said this week’s visit to the Middle East, his second since becoming Minister for Foreign Affairs, was particularly important and timely, given continuing efforts to buttress the fragile ceasefire in place since January 18th in Gaza, and attempts to revive the ailing Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Mr Martin will also hold talks with Syria’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister today. The Minister is also due to meet the grand mufti of Syria, the country’s most senior Sunni cleric.
From Damascus, Mr Martin will travel to Lebanon where he will meet president Michel Suleiman in Beirut tomorrow and other senior government figures including prime minister Fouad Siniora. The Minister will then travel to southern Lebanon to visit the headquarters of the Unifil peacekeeping mission and meet Irish officers.
Mr Martin said he looked forward to discussing with Syrian and Lebanese leaders the many challenges faced by the international community in the aftermath of the Gaza conflict, including the need for the full opening of border crossings and support for humanitarian work in the territory.
The Minister also plans to discuss the recent improvement of bilateral relations between Beirut and Damascus, the indirect contacts between Israel and Syria mediated by Turkey last year, and what he called the “welcome renewed involvement” of the US in the Middle East peace process.
Tomorrow evening, Mr Martin will travel to Abu Dhabi where he will accompany President Mary McAleese on her official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Mrs McAleese will arrive in the UAE from Bahrain where her itinerary today includes a meeting with the country’s king, Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa.
Tomorrow she will officially open the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) Medical University of Bahrain campus.
The €49 million campus in the Bahraini capital Manama offers training facilities for more than 500 full-time and part-time international medical students.
In Abu Dhabi, Mrs McAleese and the Minister will meet the crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
They will then travel on to Dubai, where they will meet the emirate’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, whose family has extensive business interests in Ireland.
The President and Mr Martin will have talks with Irish business leaders based in the region before visiting the Meydan racecourse development in Dubai, where they will meet Irish jockeys and Meydan owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Mr Martin said the primary focus of the visit to the Emirates will be the promotion of trade and investment. He said: “The gulf is increasingly important in the global economy and it is vital, at this time, that we send out the message that Ireland remains an attractive location for investment.”