The Minister for Finance is travelling to Washington DC today to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Paschal Donohoe will be there not only to represent Ireland as finance minister, but also in his capacity as Eurogroup President.
On Friday he will chair a meeting of the 27 members of the Eurogroup which will be attended by Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary.
Mr Donohoe will also be involved in a number of other IMF, World Bank and G7 meetings and bilateral engagements.
Three G7 meetings will be focused on the global economic situation, Africa and climate change.
"These meetings provide a valuable opportunity to discuss and agree policies to meet the global economic challenges caused by the war in Ukraine, and supporting the sustainable development agenda," Mr Donohoe said in a statement ahead of the visit.
"As President of the Eurogroup, I will be setting out the coordinated policies across the euro area to mitigate the economic impact of the war in Ukraine and to protect vulnerable households and businesses," he said.
"I will also be setting out the strengths and resilience of the euro area which has recovered strongly from Covid with historically high employment levels, and is well positioned to deal with the significant challenges caused by the war in Ukraine," he added.
An event will also be taking place at the Irish embassy in Washington DC which will focus on the attractiveness of the Irish and European financial sectors for global businesses seeking to operate in the US.
It will also be attended by EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness.
Oxfam urged the finance minister to prioritise protecting the world's poorest and vulnerable at his meetings in Washington.
"This will be one of Minister Donohoe's last meetings as Finance Minister on the global stage and it’s crucial that he does not miss this opportunity to champion the needs of those most impacted by the economic fallout of Covid-19 and the global cost of living crisis, fuelled by the war in Ukraine," said Michael McCarthy Flynn, Head of Policy and Advocacy at Oxfam Ireland.
"In the toughest of times, austerity measures are the worst possible solution. Instead of supporting recovery, they actually see a scaling down of essential social protection services for women, children, the elderly and those most vulnerable."
"For the world’s poorest, they’re not just disastrous – they’re deadly."
