UK and Ireland set to agree enhanced co-operation at summit

The UK and Ireland are set to agree a new programme of enhanced co-operation at a summit in Liverpool.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Taoiseach Micheal Martin will lead delegations of their respective Cabinet colleagues in the first of a new series of annual UK-Ireland summits.

It is expected that they will agree a wide-ranging programme of new and enhanced strategic cooperation between Ireland and the UK, entitled UK-Ireland 2030, to be taken forward by both governments through to 2030.

This is set to include closer collaboration on energy with a new data-sharing programme to enable commercial developers to increase offshore production.

The two leaders will also host a roundtable meeting with industry figures from a number of sectors across the UK and Ireland, including tech and energy.

Sir Keir said: “As our closest neighbour, our partnership with Ireland is testament to the importance of working with international partners to deliver for people at home.

“Now more than ever we must work with like-minded partners in the pursuit of global peace, prosperity and security.”

Mr Martin said the summit is “one of the most significant bilateral engagements” between the two governments “in a generation”.

He said it “shows the resolve of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and I to put in place the building blocks to bring strategic co-operation between our two countries to a new level”.

As part of the summit, Ireland has announced new investments into the UK worth £185.5 million, which the Government says could create more than 2,500 jobs across the country.

On Wednesday night Sir Keir and Mr Martin co-hosted a reception to celebrate cultural links between the UK and Ireland.

The summits were announced by the Prime Minister and then Taoiseach Simon Harris during a meeting in Dublin last September.