Indian-origin UK, Irish PMs Rishi Sunak and Leo Varadkar mark return of power sharing in Northern Ireland

The Indian-origin prime ministers of the UK and Ireland, Rishi Sunak and Leo Varadkar, met on Monday to oversee a historic power-sharing pact in Northern Ireland, where a devolved government took charge after two years.

Prime Minister Sunak and Taoiseach Varadkar met at Parliament Buildings, Stormont Castle, in Belfast as they hailed efforts to restore devolution in Northern Ireland.

They also met political leaders separately, including First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, who head the devolved region’s executive. Pengelly belongs to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

“Now it’s time to get to work,” said Sunak after his meetings.

“We’ve worked very hard and succeeded in protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the union and built on what we achieved with the Windsor Framework to ensure the smooth flow of trade in the UK and all the benefits that are there as a result of Brexit can be seized,” he said.

While Southampton-born Sunak’s roots connect with Punjab, Dublin-born Varadkar has his familial roots in Maharashtra.

In a readout of the historic discussions between the British Indian and Irish Indian leaders, Downing Street said Sunak began by congratulating the Ireland rugby team for their emphatic win against France in the Six Nations contest on Friday.

“This had been a challenging time, but patience had proved key to a deal. Now that the institutions were up and running again, he wanted to see all three strands functioning equally well. The sense of relief and optimism from people in Northern Ireland had been very striking and made it all worthwhile,” reads the Downing Street statement.

Both leaders agreed that a “stable, effective and successful” Northern Ireland – part of the United Kingdom and sharing a border with Ireland – benefitted the UK-Irish relationship immensely.

The British government has already pledged to provide a financial package worth GBP 3.3 billion, described by Sunak as “generous and fair”, to any newly-formed executive at Stormont.

The return of power-sharing came after months of negotiations involving the government and the DUP of Northern Ireland. It withdrew from power-sharing in February 2022 protesting the post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, agreed between the UK and European Union (EU).

Last week, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson announced his party had a reached a deal with Number 10 that means no “routine” checks on goods crossing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. He said on this basis, and with legislation passed at Westminster to implement more changes, his party would return to government.

Writing in the visitors’ book at Parliament Buildings in Belfast, Taoiseach Varadkar wrote: “Delighted to be here on an important day for Northern Ireland and to witness devolved democracy and the Good Friday Agreement operating once more.”

The Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998 by then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern, backed by then US President Bill Clinton, brought an end to 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles.

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