Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 58: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the bilateral meetings that he attended at the recent UN Assembly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27241/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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As part of the broader programme for UNGA Ministerial Week, I had bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Andorra, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Laos, the Palestinian Authority, Russia, and Serbia as well as the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, former Egyptian Foreign Minister, Nabil el-Araby. I had also been due to meet the Israeli Foreign Minister, but this did not prove possible due to scheduling difficulties on the Israeli side.

These meetings provided a valuable opportunity to discuss a range of international issues, including developments in relation to the Middle East Peace Process, as well as bilateral issues and Ireland's candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council in 2012.

I also held a bilateral meeting on 26 September with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Among the issues we discussed were sustainable development, gender and the enhancement of women's rights, the Palestinian application for UN membership, and the Arab Spring.

In view of Ireland's upcoming Chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in January 2012, I participated in an OSCE Troika meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Lithuania and Kazakhstan, respectively, the current and previous Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE. I also attended an important Ministerial meeting on Mediation hosted by the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Finland.

I also participated in a number of High Level Meetings during the UNGA week, including on Libya, the Durban Declaration and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Article XIV Conference. I was also honoured to address the High Level Meeting on Nutrition and Food Security on 21 September which US Secretary of State Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban also participated in and which builds on the successful Irish-US initiative on this issue launched at the United Nations in September 2010. In addition, I also attended the traditional meetings of EU Foreign Ministers with their US and Russian counterparts as well as a Mini-Summit on the Horn of Africa on 24 September.

Economic promotional work also formed an important part of my programme in New York where I met with both Irish and American business representatives, and conducted interviews with a wide range of important US media, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News and Fox News. Another important aspect of my visit was meeting with local Irish community representatives in New York and presenting the first Certificate of Irish Heritage to the family of the late Joseph Hunter, a member of the New York Fire Department who died in the 9/11 attacks.