Taoiseach to meet Canadian PM ahead of G8 summit

Final preparations are underway for the 39th G8 summit, which takes place in Co Fermanagh tomorrow.

A major security operation is in place for the two-day meeting of world leaders and is the first one to take place in Northern Ireland.

Around 2,000 people marched in Belfast yesterday against the G8, with further protests expected to take place in the coming days.

To coincide with the G8 Summit in Enniskillen, the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is meeting with the Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Farmleigh House later to discuss strengthening trade between the two countries.

US President Barack Obama will deliver a public address in Belfast tomorrow ahead of the start of the G8 meeting.

First Lady Michelle Obama will introduce the head of state at the Waterfront Hall conference centre overlooking the River Lagan.

The high-profile visit follows a peaceful anti-G8 rally by environmentalists, trade unionists and human rights campaigners in Belfast city centre yesterday.

A White House spokesman said: “He will deliver remarks and engage with the people of Northern Ireland and highlight the hard work, dialogue and institutional development they have undertaken together to advance peace and prosperity.”

The president will meet Prime Minister David Cameron before the economic summit at Lough Erne, Fermanagh, and hold bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow night.

Syria is expected to be high on the agenda of the world leaders, along with issues surrounding terrorism and tax havens.

Mr Cameron has said there is credible evidence of “multiple attacks” using chemical weapons by Syrian president Bashar Assad’s regime.

Peaceful demonstrations were held in Belfast yesterday urging the president not to arm the Syrian rebels and calling for greater efforts to tackle world hunger and environmental disaster.

This will be Mr Obama’s first visit to the North – he visited the Republic of Ireland in 2011 – and security will be tight.

The White House has said the two-day summit and related meetings will provide the president and his fellow world leaders with an opportunity to address pressing economic, political and security challenges around the globe and to promote the advancement of trade and greater transparency among G8 members and the developing world.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, will be the guest speaker at a special Enough Food For Everyone IF service in Enniskillen today.

He will add his voice to the thousands of campaigners calling for an end to world hunger.