Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 100: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on bilateral meetings that he has attended since 1 June 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27051/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Following my appointment at the beginning of April 2005 as envoy of the UN Secretary General for the September summit on UN reform, I met 46 of my Foreign Minister colleagues in advance of the summit, as well as the European Commissioner for External Relations, Ms Ferrero-Waldner and the EU High Representative-Secretary General Solana. For the period referred to by the Deputy, I held meetings in that capacity with the Foreign Ministers of Belarus, Hungary, Estonia, Jordan, Malta, Iceland, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Finland, France, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia, Greece, Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus. During this time I also met the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, and with the then President of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Jean Ping.

In addition to my role as envoy of the UN Secretary General, I also took part in the following bilateral meetings. On 7 July I met Mr. Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Our discussion focused on the way ahead for the peace process and political and security issues, including the upcoming marching season and parades. I had a further meeting with Mr. Hain on 21 September where we reviewed developments over the summer, including the IRA statement of 28 July. We also discussed the regrettable recent upsurge in loyalist violence and other relevant political and security issues.

On 15 September, en marge of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, I had a series of bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and Burundi. During my meeting with Foreign Minister Gul of Turkey, we discussed issues relating to Turkey's EU accession discussions. My meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority included an exchange of views on matters of mutual concern, including the continuing efforts of the international community to advance the progress of a just and lasting solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. I raised the matter of the ongoing investigation into the murder of Archbishop Michael Courtney in December 2003 and the Great Lakes conference process with my Burundian colleague, Ms Antoinette Batumubwira. In turn, the Burundian Foreign Minister requested support for her Government's initiatives in the areas of primary and vocational education.

On 19 September, also en marge of the United Nations General Assembly, I met the Foreign Ministers of the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, Sudan and Colombia. During my meeting with Mr. Raymond Ramazani Baya, Foreign Minister of the DRC, we discussed the security situation in the DRC, the preparations for next year's elections and the current state of bilateral relations between our two countries. I also informed my DRC colleague that Ireland will contribute €500,000 to the electoral process.

Acting Foreign Minister of Sudan, Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, and I discussed the current situation in Sudan and the ongoing political and humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Minister Ismail briefed me in detail on his Government's views, offering a positive assessment of the humanitarian situation in Darfur and the general political and security situation in Sudan, including the state of play at the Abuja talks which are aimed at achieving a political settlement in Darfur.

Discussions with the Colombian Foreign Minister, Ms Carolina Barco, focused on the new Colombian Justice and Peace Law and the issue of the Colombia Three.

Also during the period in question, I would have had informal discussions with my EU colleagues during the course of meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, GAERC, the European Council and the informal Foreign Ministers' meeting, Gymnich.