Pence to travel to United Kingdom, Ireland and Iceland in September

Vice President Pence will travel to the United Kingdom and Ireland to discuss potential fallout from Brexit as part of a three-country trip next month on behalf of President Trump.

Pence’s trip will begin on Sept. 3 with a visit to Iceland, where he will discuss bilateral trade and security agreements as well as highlight efforts to push back against Russian aggression in the region, the White House announced Wednesday.

{mosads}He will then spend the next two days in the United Kingdom discussing the future of the bilateral relationship following Brexit. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has indicated he will adhere to an Oct. 31 deadline for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.

Trump has expressed a desire to reach a bilateral trade deal with the United Kingdom, but many of the details must wait until the terms of Brexit are finalized.

Pence will also meet with British officials to discuss “the threat of Chinese malign influence,” including through 5G telecommunications networks built out by companies like Huawei, the White House announced.

Former British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government gave the Chinese tech giant limited access to Britain’s 5G networks, but the Trump administration has urged international allies not to use Huawei amid concerns that the tech firm poses a security risk.

The vice president will cap his trip with a stop in Ireland on Sept. 6. He is expected to speak with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar about maintaining stability in the country by upholding the Good Friday Agreement and expanding trade opportunities.

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement ended the decades long Northern Ireland conflict, but the issue is once again in the spotlight amid Brexit negotiations. Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., shares a border with Ireland, which is part of the EU.

Critics of Brexit have raised concerns that a deal might require imposing a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, upsetting the agreement that has maintained peace for more than two decades.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday reiterated her opposition to a free trade deal with the United Kingdom if its withdrawal from the European Union harms Irish peace.

Pence’s trip will begin at the tail end of Trump’s own visit to Europe. The president will be in France for the Group of Seven summit Aug. 24–26, followed by stops in Poland and Denmark from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3.