Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Taoiseach (Irish PM) Leo Varadkar have visited Stormont to mark the return of power sharing in Northern Ireland.
They met for what the taoiseach called “a very good meeting”.
They also met political leaders separately, including First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.
Mr Sunak said the new deal would protect Northern Ireland’s place in the union.
He said the return of devolved government was a cause for optimism
Mr Varadkar would not be drawn on the question of a united Ireland, instead saying the assembly’s return showed the Good Friday Agreement was working again.
He said the new ministers were “keen to get into their briefs” and the Irish government was “here to help”.
Speaking ahead of the first meeting of the Northern Ireland Executive – the ministers which direct policy and make decisions – Ms O’Neill said “today is a good day”.
She said the parties in the executive – her party Sinn Féin; the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP); the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP); and Alliance – had “committed to working together”.
Ms Little-Pengelly echoed the first minister’s comments saying they were “very conscious of the big issues to tackle”.
BBC
