And I want to thank you and also Congress for your support for the new E-3 visa program, which will allow a limited number of Irish people to come here annually. (Applause.)
Mr. President, a hundred years since independence, Ireland has taken her place among the nations of the world. We're a proud member of the United Nations, acting as a force for good around the world. We're securing our place in the European Union - the common European home which we helped to build. And we're a gateway to the Atlantic and, I hope, a bridge between Europe and America.
And at this point in our history, we're very keen to deepen the economic ties between our two countries. Decades of investment by U.S. firms in Ireland have helped to transform Ireland from one of the least developed countries in Europe to what is now one of the most prosperous. And we thank America and we thank you for that. I will never forget the role of America in making our economic transformation possible.
Today, however, our economic relationship is very much a two-way street. Almost 100,000 Americans in 50 states are now employed in Irish-owned companies, and there are more jobs to come. A hundred and nineteen Irish firms have invested here since you took office, and investment by Irish companies in the U.S. has trebled in recent years.
We have a trade surplus in goods and merchandise, but that's balanced by a trade surplus in services. So, jobs and trade and investment are going in both directions. And free trade and free enterprise are making everyone better off in the round, and I'd like to keep it that way.
President Lincoln once said, "The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future." All these are links in the endless chain stretching from the finites to the infinites.
And, Mr. President, I believe that Ireland is part of that endless chain. We're really proud of our links to this great country. We want them to continue, and we want to strengthen and deepen them in the years ahead.
And so, Mr. President, in the spirit of our long-shared friendship, it gives me very great pleasure to present you with the 2019 Shamrock Bowl. Happy St. Patrick's Day. (Applause.)
(The Shamrock Bowl is presented.)
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
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