Burma likely to feature in Ahern's London talks
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern will hold talks with Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband in London tomorrow.
The two men are expected to cover a range of issues, specifically the situation in Burma and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan.
Mr Ahern, who met the Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol last week on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly, will also outline the possibility of a peace deal.
Mr Miliband will be briefed about the deployment of 350 Irish peacekeepers in Chad and recent talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Mr Ahern also plans to discuss Ireland’s aid programme to Darfur. He will also attend a reception in the Irish embassy in London and meet groups benefiting from €9.5mof Irish Government grants.
A spokesperson for the Minister said the Dion emigrant assistance scheme was at a record level.
“This year the Government will fund 130 organisations across England, Scotland and Wales with the widest geographic spread of funding in the 23 year history of the Irish Governments Dion grants,” he said.
Almost €50m in funding has been provided by the Government for the Irish community in 1984. The money supports welfare projects, social outreach programmes and this year will also finance heritage and sports projects, particularly Gaelic games in Britain.
The Provincial Council of the GAA in Britain will be given €360,000 which will be matched by Croke Park to fund coaches for clubs all over Britain.
