BACKGROUND PRESS CALL
BY A SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL
ON THE VISIT OF PRIME MINISTER LEO VARADKAR OF IRELAND
Via Teleconference
3:03 P.M. EDT
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is [senior administration official] from NSC Strategic Communications. Today we’ll be conducting a background brief previewing Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s visit to the White House tomorrow.
Quick rule: This briefing is conducted on background with attribution to a “senior administration official.” Additionally, the contents of the call are embargoed until the completion of the call.
Okay, without further ado, I’m going to go ahead now and introduce our briefer for today, [senior administration official], National Security Council.
Over to you.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: All right. Thank you so much. I’m very happy to be speaking with you today about this. We are really honored to welcome Taoiseach Leo Varadkar here to the White House once again, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. We think this is a real opportunity to reinforce our relationship, our shared culture and history, our economic ties, our commitment to peace and security.
So we see this celebration as a special moment in which we can reflect on the impacts that the Irish have had in shaping our country, the unbreakable bonds between our peoples. It’s an opportunity to reaffirm the relationship between our nations.
And we’re confident that this spirit of cooperation will continue regardless of the composition of the next government following the recent elections, because the U.S.-Ireland partnership really transcends politics. It’s historic. These long-term bonds and longstanding friendship cannot be broken.
One of the major elements of our relationship is the strong economic ties between our countries. The President and the Taoiseach will discuss a range of important issues that are going to affect our two nations, including advancing this economic partnership.
Ireland and the United States have more than $825 billion invested in each other’s economies, and the two-way trade in goods and services totals nearly $130 billion. So we are looking forward to a new U.S.-EU trade deal that would increase the prosperity and employment in both of our countries.
The United States additionally welcomes the reestablishment of the devolved government in Northern Ireland after this three-year impasse, and we’re looking forward to meeting with many of those stakeholders.
And then, in general, this celebration gives us, again, an opportunity to increase trade and investment ties between the United States and Northern Ireland.
In terms of peace, the United States is committed to maintaining peace, prosperity, and stability in Northern Ireland. The United States places great value on the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and will continue to advocate for preserving the achievements of that agreement, which has resulted in peace on the island of Ireland for more than 20 years.
The President’s appointment of Mick Mulvaney as special envoy is a very strong sign of that U.S. commitment. U.S. special envoys have, for a long time, facilitated the negotiation and implementation of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. And the main goal here is bring an end to violence and ensure self-determination, peace, and reconciliation.
And, additionally, we have a strong security relationship with Ireland, and this is an opportunity for the President and Taoiseach to discuss greater cooperation against certain types of threats, which include terrorism, cyberattacks, and unsecure telecommunications providers.
Ireland is one of the foremost examples of countries that have benefitted greatly from the digital revolution, and as a result, it’s home to over 700 U.S. businesses that service EU markets and markets globally.
In that sense, we recognize that cyberattacks can really wreak havoc in this world that is highly interconnected. And so our two governments cooperate closely on ensuring that there are really robust measures in place to protect Ireland’s national infrastructure against risks in this new technology environment.
That’s all for me. I’m going to turn it over to my colleague here to discuss a little bit about the event.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Okay, thank you. This is [a senior administration official] again. So not to get into the details, but the key events for tomorrow will be the President and the Prime Minister will conduct a bilateral meeting tomorrow morning. And then, in the afternoon, the President and the Prime Minister will deliver remarks -- joint remarks -- in the East Room. The Prime Minister, of course, as is tradition, will present the Shamrock Bowl to the President at the event.
Okay. So that’s all I have. We are operating under a very tight timeline today, so we only have time for a couple of questions. So I’m going to go ahead now and turn it over for Q&A.
Q Yes, hi. It’s Darlene Superville from the Associated Press. Thanks for your time. I was wondering if someone could talk about precautions the White House is taking to make sure that it is safe, from a health standpoint, for the Prime Minister to be allowed into the White House tomorrow, given what’s going on with coronavirus.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thank you. There really is no higher priority for President Trump than the health and safety of the American people and our distinguished visitors and guests. We are maintaining business as usual here at the White House.
Q Hi. Thanks for doing this call. I’m Esther Oh with NHK Japan. I was wondering if the President and the Prime Minister will be discussing the spread of the coronavirus situation in Europe. And will the President be limiting the number of meetings with leaders coming from Europe, given the situation?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Hi, this is [senior administration official]. Yeah. We just answered that question, and we're going to focus our remarks today, please, on the actual visit itself. But thank you.
Next question please.
Q Hi, this is Anne Gearan with The Washington Post. I'm afraid I have another on a similar topic. We've been hearing an awful lot about the administration's concern about Europe being the main platform in which the virus is spreading. Obviously, you saw what Chancellor Merkel had to say today about what the numbers could be there. Do you expect the President and the Prime Minister to discuss ways that they can work together or make any shared concerns they may have about the spread of the virus in Europe and what effect that has both on (inaudible) and across the pond here? Thank you.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Again, no higher priority for President Trump than the health and safety of the American people. Because this is a global issue, I'm sure this is something that they will be discussing. But for details on a response, the best thing is to contact the White House Press Office or the task force as headed by the Vice President.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Okay, ladies and gentlemen, that’s all the time we have for questions. Thank you for your time.
I would like to remind everyone that this call was on background, attributed to a “senior administration official,” and the embargo is lifted. Thank you.
END 3:11 P.M. EDT
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