US vice president Mike Pence has greeted soldiers at Shannon Airport in Ireland hours after the federal government shutdown in America.

Mr Pence shook hands and posed for photos with the troops in the airport terminal during a re-fuelling stop by Air Force Two.

Mr Pence told some of the troops: “We’ll get this thing figured out in Washington.”

He is told the soldiers to “stay focused on your mission”.

The vice president is travelling to the Middle East with stops in Egypt, Jordan and Israel.