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The Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Thomas Byrne TD, today (Wednesday, 12 August), met with General Grynkewich, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

Commenting on his meeting, the Minister of State for Defence, Thomas Byrne TD said:

“I welcomed the opportunity to meet with General Grynkewich in Dublin today. Ireland’s engagement with NATO through Partnership for Peace has provided our Defences Forces with valuable opportunities since 1999 for useful and pragmatic collaboration, in our contribution to peacekeeping globally, and in adherence with our policy of military neutrality.

“Ireland’s relationship with NATO through the Partnership for Peace Programme is of high value, particularly in relation to access to military training and education.

“Access to this training and education enables the Defence Forces to attain best practice and allows for interoperability, when working alongside other nations on overseas missions, which is a key component of force protection.”

Minister Byrne continued:“During my meeting with General Grynkewich, we discussed the Irish EU Presidency and our priorities for our term. We also discussed Ireland’s contribution to overseas peacekeeping missions, including the KFOR Mission in Kosovo, which I visited last year.

“Our meeting also covered national flagship defence capability development projects currently in progress in Ireland and the recently launched National Maritime Security Strategy. Ireland has a longstanding policy of international cooperation, be it through our EU and UN membership, or through our relationship with NATO under Partnership for Peace over the past twenty-seven years.”

Ireland joined the Partnership for Peace Programme (PfP) with NATO in 1999, it is a long-standing partnership built on mutual trust and respect, key elements for any successful partnership. Austria, Switzerland and Malta are also members of PfP.

The primary aim of Ireland's PfP participation has been to enhance the Defence Forces' interoperability with other professional military forces to enable their participation in multilateral peacekeeping and peace-support operations e.g. the UNIFIL battalion in Lebanon and KFOR in Kosovo alongside personnel from NATO Member States.

The framework for cooperation between NATO and Partners is known as the Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP). Ireland’s current ITTP is for the period 2024-2028.

Ireland’s policy of military neutrality is characterised by non-membership of military alliances and non-participation in common or mutual defence arrangements. This policy has been practised by successive Governments. The global security context obliges Ireland to take both our own security and our responsibility towards our like-minded partners more seriously than ever.

For this reason, the Government is committed to broadening and deepening Ireland’s international security engagement with key bilateral as well as multilateral partners, including the EU, UN and NATO.