TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny is to travel to Germany tomorrow for his first official visit, where he will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The one-day trip to Berlin and Frankfurt also involves a working lunch meeting with Merkel in the capital, where Kenny will outline Ireland’s economic recovery plans. He said the meeting would be a “timely opportunity to highlight the positive aspects of the Irish story” to Germany.
Kenny and Merkel are also expected to discuss continuing economic developments in the eurozone, as well as other EU-related issues. The German leader said yesterday that the current debt crisis is Europe’s “toughest hour since World War Two”.
Kenny will later meet with German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble privately before travelling to Frankfurt for an Irish-German business event in the evening.
Speaking today of Ireland’s economic position, the Taoiseach said that the sacrifices being made by Irish people are paying off:
We have travelled a difficult road and Irish people continue to make huge sacrifices, but these are now paying dividends. Our economy will grow again this year by about 1 per cent, with our export sector driving our recovery. The journey ahead will be challenging but we are determined to regain our financial sovereignty as quickly as possible.
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