Ireland-Wales Forum meeting: 3 July 2025
Joint communiqué of the meeting of the Ireland-Wales Forum on 3 July 2025.
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The fifth annual Ireland-Wales Ministerial Forum took place in Swansea, Wales on 3 July 2025, bringing together the First Minister of Wales Rt Hon. Eluned Morgan MS and the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Minister for Defence, Simon Harris TD.
The forum is organised under the Ireland-Wales Shared Statement and was held in Swansea at the National Waterfront Museum. The Shared Statement has supported the development of strong collaborative links between Wales and Ireland across many areas, from renewable energy, to education and research links, to protecting and promoting our languages, building cultural partnerships, and supporting our economic and trading ties.
This year’s forum marks a significant moment as the first Ireland-Wales Shared Statement 2021-2025 completes and the next Ireland-Wales Shared Statement 2030 launches – a forward-looking and action-oriented framework that provides direction for our cooperation to the end of the decade.
In their discussions, the First Minister and the Tánaiste focussed on their shared ambitions for the Ireland-Wales bilateral relationship, deepening cooperation over the next 5 years and beyond. The new shared statement includes Innovation and Trade, and strengthens co-operation in shared areas such as offshore renewable energy.
As part of the forum programme, the First Minister and the Tánaiste visited Swansea University, hearing directly from Ireland-Wales research projects. The forum was also an opportunity to visit ICON plc, an Irish headquartered Clinical Research Organisation which is successfully recruiting and growing their base in Wales.
In the year ahead, Wales and Ireland will focus on initiatives to include research partnerships, further supporting cultural partnerships, and policy exchange in a range of areas, to include education and sustainability. At this year’s forum a new funding scheme to support early career researchers collaborating between Ireland and Wales, was announced by the Tánaiste. The scheme will launch in autumn 2025.
It was agreed that the next Ireland-Wales forum will take place in Ireland in 2026.