Executive urged to clarify international relations principles ahead of Trump inauguration

President-elect Donald Trump, accompanied by his wife Melania, listens to a reporter's question, before a New Year's Eve party at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach
-Credit:AP Photo/Evan Vucci


As the United States prepare for the inauguration of Donald Trump on Monday, the SDLP have called for the Executive to set out their international relations principles so the public can understand the parameters and purpose of its international outreach.

With significant public money spent on the Executive’s presence in both Washington D.C. and Beijing, and recent figures showing tens of thousands of pounds being spent on business class flights for ministers, the party have said that it is critical that the Executive explain to the public what basic principles guide their international engagement.

The Programme for Government contained one line on building international relationships but contained little detail on how those relationships would be guided or prioritised – despite a specific civil service team working on international relations.

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The party's Leader of the Opposition, Matthew O'Toole, said: “I welcome and encourage Ministers engaging overseas and selling this region, whether it relates to our fantastic tourism offer or our dual market access proposition. But though we do not choose the leaders of other countries, the people of the North are entitled to know what basic principles guide Executive international relations policy – especially when tens of thousands of pounds is being spent on flights.

“Engaging in and with the United States will always be vitally important, but as we enter the second Trump era, with a large proportion of Americans and countless millions all over the planet anxious about what that may entail, Ministers here should articulate a set of clear principles that the Executive adheres to. Respect for the rule of international law, human rights standards and acknowledgement of the climate crisis should be non-negotiable.

“As a constructive opposition, we encourage active engagement to all of our benefit – but that cannot mean abandoning the same principles that underpin our peace in Ireland.”

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