St Patrick's Day: Leo Varadkar in US for Trump meeting

Leo Varadkar and Donald Trump are due to meet on Thursday

Leo Varadkar is set to meet with President Donald Trump as part of events leading up to St Patrick's Day.

It comes as the White House cancelled its annual St Patrick's Day reception and the St Patrick's Day parade in New York is postponed amid global concerns over coronavirus.

The taoiseach (Irish prime minister) will take part in engagements on Thursday.

Mr Varadkar described the events as a "valuable opportunity for Ireland".

As part of the visit, he will also meet with Vice-President Mike Pence and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

'Emphasising relations'

"I will use my meetings with President Trump and other senior US politicians to emphasise the strength and importance of Irish-US bilateral relations, particularly our economic ties," said Mr Varadkar.

As well as the St Patrick's Day parade being postponed in New York - and other US cities - the White House has cancelled the annual St Patrick's Day White House reception.

The White House said the decision was taken "out of an abundance of caution".

The taoiseach said he would discuss EU-UK relations, Northern Ireland and the US role in protecting the Good Friday Agreement with the president.

His meeting with Mrs Pelosi will be as part of the house speaker's luncheon on Capitol Hill.

On Wednesday evening, Mr Varadkar gave a keynote speech at an event hosted by Ireland Funds, a global fundraising network for people in the Irish diaspora.

The visit has faced some disruption, with plans to travel to New York on Tuesday to attend a meeting at the United Nations cancelled at the last minute.

This decision was taken to allow Mr Varadkar to stay in the Republic of Ireland to deal with the developing threat from coronavirus.

The first coronavirus-linked death in the Republic of Ireland was recorded on Wednesday.

The elderly woman died in a Dublin hospital, where she was being treated for Covid-19.

First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill have both cancelled St Patrick's Day visits to the US in response to the coronavirus pandemic.