Taoiseach Micheal Martin has insisted he will be "respectful" at next week's meeting with the US President in Washington.
Mr Martin declined to be drawn on whether he would push back on any claims Donald Trump might make in the Oval Office St Patrick's encounter.
"I'm honoured to be going to the White House as well as looking forward to, again, celebrating what is a major historic tradition and relationship between Ireland and United States, particularly for Irish Americans and our diaspora there too," Mr Martin told reporters ahead of the UK-Ireland political summit in Liverpool tomorrow.
"Patrick's week is always a very significant week and we will be discussing a range of issues, and particularly, again, the importance of the Irish-US relationship, but today it's about the UK-Irish relationship.
"People come to the table with different perspectives. I respect people. I respect the offices that people hold," he said.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Mr Martin said it was an honour to be invited to the White House as a taoiseach, given the "relationship between our two countries, very strong economic relationship, but also the ties that bind Ireland and America together for a long, long time," he said.
He added: "And, you know, we will engage in a respectful manner. We will put our perspectives. No doubt, President Trump has his views and perspectives as well.
"But the important thing is to engage, and the important thing is to reflect on that relationship today and to make sure we can protect Irish economic interests, protect the livelihoods of people in Ireland - many, many workers depending on that - and also pointing out then how significant Irish investment is in the United States."
Earlier, Mr Martin has said that Irish troops would not be used as a deterrent force in any future Ukrainian peacekeeping mission
Ahead of his meeting with the UK Prime Minister this evening, Mr Martin paid tribute to Keir Starmer's efforts in leading a "coalition of the willing".
He said that in the event of a ceasefire, Ireland had always been open to peacekeeping but would not be part of a deterrent force.
Cybersecurity, undersea cables in focus at summit
Mr Martin said he hoped the UK and Ireland could enhance security co-operation at the summit meeting tomorrow.
He highlighted areas of cybersecurity and protecting undersea cables as areas where the two nations could work together more.
"We will be discussing how we can enhance that type of security cooperation and engagement," he said.
Mr Martin also said he disagreed with Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill after she told the Stormont Assembly this week that she was "incredulous" at a large order for a Belfast plant to supply missiles for Ukraine.
The Thales plant in east Belfast is to supply 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth up to £1.6bn (€1.9bn).
However, Ms O'Neill said she found the deal "incredulous" at the time of public service cuts, winter fuel payment cuts, national insurance hikes and inheritance tax changes for farmers.
Mr Martin said he had always been an advocate of peace but he understood why the order had been made as he made clear Ukraine had to be able to have the capacity to defend itself.
He said: "I wouldn't agree with the First Minister on that. Nobody likes the utilisation of weapons. I certainly don't. All my life I've been on the peace side of the equation. I still am, and I do want durable peace within Ukraine. I also want peace in the Middle East.
"I want peace in Sudan, which very few people are talking about.
"But it's Russia that illegally invaded Ukraine three years ago. That's the reality. 10% of Russian national income has been spent on militarisation. People are afraid of that. People are worried about that."
He added: "Collectively, people are coming to the conclusion that Europe needs to improve and enhance its capability in order to have a deterrence there to avoid any attempted encroachment on any member state of the European Union."
Irish-UK relationship not at full potential - Starmer
Mr Starmer told an audience at a cultural reception this evening that he does not believe that the relationship between the UK and Ireland has reached its full potential.
He said that strengthening UK-Irish relations was an important part of his mission growth.
The Labour leader paid tribute to friendship between both countries, adding that it was a really important moment for him, personally, when he visited Ireland as Prime Minister last September.
Mr Starmer said that he had great ambitions for the summit.
Mr Martin also spoke of the importance of a close partnership with the UK in a more uncertain world.
Speaking to reporters this evening, he said that trade and energy will also be a focus of the summit.
It will be attended a several members of cabinet in both Governments.
On the Irish side, Tánaiste Simon Harris will be in attendance, along with Minister for Education Helen McEntee, Minister for Climate Darragh O'Brien and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.
Mr Starmer has made resetting UK-Irish relations one of his government's key objectives since coming to power last summer.
Additional reporting Tommy Meskill, Reuters & AFP
