Clinton ‘would love’ to join president on trip

SECRETARY of State Hillary Clinton, who has travelled to Ireland a number of times, including when she was First Lady, said she would love to take part in Mr Obama’s trip in May.

“I would love to be in Ireland under any circumstances,” she said adding that she does not yet know if she will take part because “I never know where I am going to be”.

After a meeting with the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore, she said it was “very good news” that Mr Obama would be coming to Ireland and she was “excited” about the visit.

“I don’t know how many Irish-Americans will believe they have to be there with him but I imagine the number will be substantial,” she said “I have a lot of good ideas about what the president would like to do that I will share with our ambassadors and others who will be planning this trip.

“At a time of very big challenges from nuclear reactor dysfunction to continuing strike and conflict, this is very good news story.”

Mr Gilmore said there was “huge good will” in America for the new Government and the visit is a “huge vote of confidence that the President of the US would agree to visit Ireland, at this time, very soon in the lifetime of the new Government”.

Mr Gilmore said: “I think it indicates a very strong level of support from the US for Ireland” and “sends a very clear message internationally that Ireland does enjoy the support of the US, and sends a very strong message to investors in the US and elsewhere that Ireland is a very good place to do business.”

Mr Gilmore’s department is already making arrangements for the visit: “We are looking at the weekend after the Queen’s visit, that will take place on May 17-20 and the intention is that President Obama’s visit will be in the days after that.

“We haven’t settled on actual dates yet because that depends on the President’s schedule but they are the indicative dates.”

At the meeting with the Secretary of State earlier, Mr Gilmore discussed ways of helping Irish immigrants in the US through a bi-lateral agreement on providing visas to work.

The response from Ms Clinton appeared lukewarm.

The Tánaiste said: “She understands the issue. She made the point to me that she was a senator for New York and understands the issue at a very practical level.”

Mr Gilmore said the meeting was about “building a platform that Ireland and the US can work together on, on a common agenda, which is not about Ireland or America but is about global issues that we are concerned about”.

As well as issues surrounding the North and the Irish economy, they made plans for a joint visit to Africa this summer for a joint initiative on world hunger.