9th Summit Of British-Irish Council Meets In Belfast

Taoiseach Meets With New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown

The British-Irish Council (BIC), established under the Agreement reached in the Multi-Party Negotiations in Belfast in 1998, began its ninth Summit meeting on Monday at Parliament Buildings in Belfast.

Council Members welcomed the historic nature of this week's meeting, which is the first Summit meeting of the Council since the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly in May 2007 and the first Summit to take place in the North.

It is also the first occasion in which the eight Heads of Administration have had the opportunity to meet together since the recent elections in most of the Member Administrations.

The Irish and British Government delegations were led by the Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern T.D., and the British Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Gordon Brown M.P., respectively.

The Welsh Assembly Government was represented by the Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones and the Scottish Executive by First Minister, the Rt. Hon. Alex Salmond M.P. M.S.P.

The BIC is a forum for its members to exchange information, discuss, consult and to agree as they see fit on cooperative measures in areas of mutual interest to them.

Setting The Strategic Direction

At Monday's meeting, the Council reviewed and discussed how the BIC might develop its work, now that all eight members are again represented by their respective administrations.

Recognising the potential of the BIC to strengthen relations between its members and to develop cooperation further between them across a range of sectors of mutual interest and benefit, they agreed it is now the right time to review the future direction of the BIC.

In this context, Scotland proposed energy as a useful work area of the BIC and offered to lead on this.

The BIC tasked the Secretariat, in consultation with Member Administrations, to undertake a strategic review of the Council's work programmes, working methods and support arrangements, including arrangements for a standing secretariat, and report back with firm proposals as soon as possible.

"The Ice Age Is Over"

On Tuesday, Irish leaders met for the North-South Council meeting.

As First Minister Ian Paisley arrived at the meeting together with Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness he announced that "The ice age is over."

Recalling how he had at one time thrown snowballs at Irish ministers when they crossed the border, he declared: "I am very glad to be here today. This is new territory to a large extent and I hope it will be very successful.

"I hope that some announcements will be made today to show that we mean business."

Mr Paisley explained that he saw the mission of the North-South Council to foster cooperation not competition: "We want both parts of Ireland to prosper."

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said the meeting represented another important day in the history of the North.

He also expressed his view that times had changed and there was the opportunity for new political cooperation between the North and South.

"There is no doubt about that. What has happened since May 8 has been extraordinary and has been very successful."

Focusing on the meeting, the Taoiseach added: "We have a very busy agenda today and a very busy workload set out between now and the end of the year.

"There are a lot of important projects where we can work in co-operation with each other. When you look down the agenda, these are all issues that make eminent sense for us to work closely together on."

Speaking before the meeting Deputy First Minister McGuinness explained that the power-sharing executive in Stormont, the British-Irish council and the North-South ministerial council were all hugely important for the future of the island of Ireland.

"I believe they can deliver for the people who live, not just on this island, but other islands as well," he said.

Next Summit

The next BIC Summit will be held in late 2007 and will be hosted by Ireland at a venue to be announced.