Liberia joined in observance of the National Day of Commemo-ration in Dublin, Republic of Ireland in recognition of the heroic services of the Irish service men and women towards promot-ing peace and security around the world
Ambassador of Liberia to London Gurly Gibson Schwarz with accreditation to Dublin, was honoured to join other Ambassa-dors and High Commissioners in recognition of the occasion.
The ceremony also reflects the ongoing ties with Liberia and Ireland, which is delivering results across varying areas.
She expressed thanks to the Irish Government on behalf of Liberia for their commitment to multilateralism : with the de-fence Forces of Ireland serving in Liberia through the United Nations Peace keeping Force, to help maintain the peace Liberia enjoys today.
The ceremony held on July 9, 2023, was followed on the 10th with a reception- where Amb. Gibson Schwarz along with other heads of missions were hosted by the Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs, Michael Martin, T.D.
She was grateful to meet with a segment of those in the Armed Forces of Ireland, who served in Liberia.
Amb. Schwarz reminded families of those who lost their lives in service: ‘they are in our thoughts and prayers; we will never forget.’
In furtherance of her mandate to represent the interests of Liberians; the top Liberian diplomat also held discussions with representatives of the Liberian Community in Ireland.
The discussions highlighted the concerns and wellbeing of Liberians and reflected the need for Liberians to work together in advancing the collective national agenda.
She hailed them for their efforts to hold together while making progress in their respective areas of concentration.
She also engaged in insightful discussions about education opportunities and encouraged Liberians to apply for the Fellowship programme put in place by the Irish Government to help build capacity of Liberians, and then return to Liberia to transfer knowledge after completion of their studies.
During her meetings with the Director for Africa of the Irish Government she advanced the need-for-exchange pro-grammes for Liberians and Irish students to benefit mutually; with students from Ireland also gaining international experience.
Liberians in Ireland further expressed to the Ambassador the challenges they face in acquiring a UK visa to renew their doc-uments since there is no passport office in Ireland.
Ultimately, the accreditation of the Liberian Ambassador to Dublin seeks to enhance the path to elevating issues of
Liberia and Liberians residing across Ireland.
Amb. Gibson-Schwarz assured the Liberian community to meet further on these issues; assuring to work with the Minis-try of Foreign Affairs towards finding ways to increase ser-vices to the many Liberians living in Ireland especially regarding issuance and renewal of their passports and other consular services .
