Varadkar and Trudeau reaffirm commitment to trade agreement

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Taoiseach (Irish PM) Leo Varadkar have repeated their commitment to the trade agreement between the EU and Canada.

They met in at Farmleigh House in Dublin on the second day of Mr Trudeau's three-day visit to the Republic of Ireland.

The Canadian premier is in Europe ahead of a key G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany later in the week.

Mr Trudeau is the taoiseach's first international visitor.

He said CETA-EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Economic - had more "upsides than downsides" and both Ireland and Canada were committed to free trade.

He said it will deliver stronger economic growth and create more well-paid jobs on both sides of the Atlantic and said Canada is looking forward to the agreement coming into force.

He also said that he encouraged the taoiseach to get more women to run for political office.

Mr Trudeau's cabinet has 15 women and 15 men in it.

Both leaders spoke about the benefits of migration and said countries do best when open to the world.

Mr Varadkar said both Ireland and Canada had neighbours who were going in "different directions".

The Canada-EU trade deal and Brexit will be high on the agenda at the G20 summit in Germany.

Trade unions, farmers and environmental groups are concerned about the deal.

It proposes a significant reduction of trade tariffs between the EU and Canada, and officials hope it will generate an increase in trade worth $12bn (€10.9bn; £9.8bn) a year.

The European Parliament needs the approval of member states' national parliaments before the trade deal can fully come into effect.

Mr Trudeau arrived in Dublin with his wife, Sophie Grégoire, and their youngest son, Hadrien, on Monday.

He thanked the taoiseach for the "warm welcome" he and his family had received.

Mr Trudeau also paid tribute to "the great friendship that has existed between Canada and Ireland over the decades and generations".

Mr Varadkar said they had a good meeting on Tuesday morning and spoke of the shared interests between the two countries.

The Canadian prime minister was due to attend a business lunch and visit famine memorial statues in the city centre before a state dinner hosted by Mr Varadkar.

The visit was arranged in May when Mr Varadkar's predecessor, Enda Kenny, met the Canadian leader in Montreal.