RUSSIA: Ireland is poised for a boom in information technology sales to Russia, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said after talks in the Kremlin yesterday.
And Moscow has reacted favourably to Mr Ahern's mission to gather support for wide-ranging reform of the United Nations.
With mobile phone use in Russia jumping from 1.4 million five years ago to 90 million today, the market is wide open and several Irish companies are already close to signing deals. More should follow with a trade commission between the two countries starting work in January to ease trade bottlenecks.
"The scale of growth here is phenomenal," said Mr Ahern. "It is something that perhaps not enough of our business people are giving attention to."
Growing business ties are also spurring a cultural exchange. Writers from the two countries will meet later this year to compare literature, and Russians living in Ireland are planning to dismantle a wooden orthodox chapel and ship it to Galway for use as their parish church.
Also being streamlined are adoption laws. Currently half of Ireland's overseas adoptions are from Russia and Mr Ahern agreed with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on rules that should make the process easier and safer.
Dublin is eager to keep dialogue open with Moscow despite a cooling of relations between Russia and the EU over issues including Chechnya, Ukraine and the jailing of oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
On the issue of UN reform, Mr Lavrov said he supported "all spheres" of the package of UN secretary general Kofi Annan.
Mr Ahern is one of five envoys charged by Mr Annan with taking this package across the globe, with Russia one of his most important stops.
Moscow sees a toughened UN as a possible bulwark against both the spread of terrorism and America's willingness to ignore existing diplomatic machinery and invade states it considers a threat.
Mr Ahern said Moscow had agreed with him in principle on the two most ambitious parts of the reform deal Mr Annan wants agreed by September: A Human Rights Council to monitor miscreant nations, and a Peacekeeping Commission which may include a standing army of peacekeepers.
"They are very strongly supportive of the peace building commission," said Mr Ahern.
Translating this into action will not be easy, with the deadline for reform now only two months away. And whether Russia would welcome intervention on issues such as Chechnya is unclear.
Sceptics will note that the UN has many times promised reform in the past, only for this to dissolve into unfulfilled promises.
Mr Ahern told The Irish Times that this time things are different. After taking the reform message to 37 capitals, he has found a powerful mood of support.
"In the next few months we will home in on the whole idea of a contract between the developed and developing world," he said. "Everyone agrees that the system of the UN has to change. It has to be more responsive."
Mr Annan wants the organisation to have not just the muscle, but also the mandate, to intervene in errant nations, if necessary by force.
The machinery for this has yet to be hammered out, and it will be a tall order to get the plan approved in time for the UN's September summit, held to meet its 60th birthday.
"The whole concept of the United Nations is more necessary than ever before," said Mr Ahern.