IT was reported this week that Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster has not been invited to the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Washington this weekend due to the ongoing issues at Stormont.
The lack of a power sharing government is thought to be the reason why the Fermanagh-south Tyrone MLA and Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald have not been invited to The White House, according to The Irish Times.
However, the DUP said in a statement that Mrs. Foster had been invited to meet with “key influencers” in Washington and New York and plans to travel to America later in the year “to fulfil these engagements.”
A spokesman said: “Mrs. Foster has asked the party’s deputy Leader Nigel Dodds to attend events in Washington including the Speaker’s Lunch on behalf of the party. 
“Mr. Dodds will also have meetings with senior officials in the State Department as well attending events to promote Northern Ireland including a breakfast event at the NI Bureau,” he said. 
Mrs. Foster, the former first minister and the late Martin McGuinness, the former deputy first minister, invited President Trump to Northern Ireland after his election victory in November 2016.
This newspaper revealed last year that the then ministers sent the joint correspondence to President Trump assuring him of a “warm welcome.”