11/9/2015. FG Think Ins Meetings Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

AS MINISTER OF Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan regularly meets foreign dignitaries and heads of state.

During such meetings, it’s customary to exchange gifts.

Flanagan’s present of choice this year was a bog oak pen, with several ministers from various countries receiving the €80 present, including Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.

shutterstock_60831055 File photo of a wooden pen Shutterstock / Olga Popova Shutterstock / Olga Popova / Olga Popova

Other gifts Flanagan gave include a Spanish version of some of Seamus Heaney’s work (worth €23) to the Chilean Foreign Minister, a copy of Elaine Wright’s book Islam: Faith, Art, Culture (worth €20) to the President of Jordan, and some Design Yard artwork to former US Senator George Mitchell and the United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Affairs Minister (ranging in price from €120 to €160).

You can read a breakdown of the gifts given to foreign dignitaries by Flanagan and junior minister Joe McHugh in 2016 here.

Read: Enda Kenny really likes to give people crystal bowls

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Charlie Flanagan's gift of choice? A bog oak pen

Read: Enda Kenny really likes to give people crystal bowls

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.