The past year has seen many new challenges and opportunities for the United States. The tragic loss of life and property caused by Hurricane Katrina and the efforts to rebuild along the Gulf Coast were a particularly vivid reminder of the need for international solidarity in the face of adversity. Ireland responded through support for humanitarian relief for the victims of the hurricane.
In the face of such challenges, one constant of which the advent of St. Patrick’s Day reminds us is the warm and vibrant relationship that the United States and Ireland enjoy at all levels, including political, economic, cultural, sporting and especially through people-to-people contacts.
Some 44 million people in the United States claim Irish heritage and we in Ireland are very proud of the contribution that successive waves of our immigrants have made to this country. We in turn have benefited from the key influence that the United States has had in the development of our island, north and south, and in supporting all our efforts to achieve a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
The ongoing support and commitment of successive administrations and both sides of the aisle in Congress – as well as from the many Irish and Irish-Americans throughout the United States – has been vital in moving forward the peace process in Northern Ireland. Tremendous progress has been made since the historic Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. The agreement embodied a positive agenda for change and its implementation to date has transformed the quality of daily life for the people of Northern Ireland.
Both the Irish and British governments have made it clear that 2006 will be a decisive year for the peace process. Their priority is to ensure the restoration of the devolved parliament and power-sharing executive branch in Northern Ireland, as well as the all-island institutions, and to continue to promote trust and reconciliation between communities.
Economic development is also essential in fostering change in Ireland, north and south. The Irish government recognizes that by working together, north and south, the prosperity of everyone on the island of Ireland can be enhanced. As in the past, the United States will be a key partner in the development of this new all-island economy.
The dramatic transformation of Ireland in recent years has been accompanied by a marked intensification in our economic relationship with the United States. American companies in Ireland now employ more than 90,000 people and the United States is Ireland’s largest source of inward investment. Total U.S. investments in Ireland are almost five times what they are in China, and America is now our second-largest trading partner next to the United Kingdom.
The Irish economy is now being substantially shaped by the emergence of world-leading high technology and export-focused Irish-owned companies. Foreign investment, particularly from the United States, has played an important role in stimulating the development of these Irish-owned companies and services.
The results speak for themselves. Ireland is the world’s third-largest merchandising exporter (after Singapore and Hong Kong) on a per-capita basis. Our export growth has been twice that of the European Union over the past five years and our country has become one of the world’s most successful trading nations, with more than 80 percent of all manufacturing output exported.
Partnership with Ireland has had clear benefits for U.S. shareholders, and Irish companies are now also contributing to the economic dynamism of this country. Irish companies employ approximately 55,000 people across 35 states, including Colorado, a fivefold increase in employment since 1997. A country that once primarily exported people and agricultural products, Ireland is now one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. We have come a long way.
The very close relationship between the United States and Ireland is having an impact in global economic terms. These ties have also helped transform Ireland, economically and politically, and have underpinned the peace process and the building of trust between the two traditions on our island. On the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day, we celebrate our achievements over the past 12 months and the strength and warmth of the relationship between Ireland and America, confident that our partnership over the coming year and beyond will continue to deepen.
Dermot Ahern is Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs.
