Cardiff, capital of Wales. Photo credit: Cardiff University
The Irish government has reopened its consulate in Wales after 10 years of no diplomatic or consulat hub in Cardiff, capital city of Wales, the theirishworld.com website reported.
The Ambassador of Ireland to the United Kingdom, Mr. Adrian O’Neill, welcomed the re-opening of the Consulate General of Ireland in Wales last week.
The Consulate will be led by the recently-appointed Consul General Denise Hanrahan. In 2009, Ireland closed its Welsh diplomatic office in 2009 in the midst of the financial crisis.
Ireland is Wales’ fourth largest trading partner and the Welsh Government has a full-time representative based in the British Embassy in Dublin.
According to Ireland’s Department for Foreign Affairs, there are currently an estimated 85 Irish companies with a presence in Wales, employing some 5,500 people.
The Global Ireland initiative will see Ireland open at least 26 new diplomatic missions and strengthen its existing diplomatic network. Since the initiative was launched last year, Ireland has opened new embassies in Wellington in New Zealand, Bogotá in Colombia, Amman in Jordan, Monrovia in Liberia, and Santiago de Chile; and also new Consulates General in Vancouver in Canada, Mumbai in Indiia, and now Cardiff.
The expansion will include new Consulates General in Los Angeles and Frankfurt in 2019, and Embassies in Kyiv in Ukraine, Manila in The Philippines, and Rabat in Morocco shortly thereafter.
News source: www.theirishworld.com