UK PM Sunak to meet with main political parties in Northern Ireland

BELFAST: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was due to arrive in Northern Ireland on December 15 to meet with the main political parties in his first visit since taking office in October, his office said.

The talks are likely to focus on post-Brexit trade rules that govern the region, which has blocked a normalisation of relations between Britain and the European Union and plunged local politics into crisis.

Following a long stalemate, Britain and the European Union resumed talks in October on how to fix problems relating to the Northern Ireland protocol, which introduced checks on some goods coming from the rest of the United Kingdom last year.

If Britain shows the political will, the EU says it is very confident that a positive conclusion is within reach.

Any deal would need to overcome the opposition within Sunak's Conservative Party and Northern Ireland's largest pro-British party, the Democratic Unionist Party.

Sunak's office said he was due to hold an introductory meeting and informal discussions with the leaders of the five main parties, including the DUP and Irish nationalists Sinn Fein.

In February, the DUP withdrew from Northern Ireland's power-sharing government, a key part of a 1998 peace deal, in protest at trade checks. Without the support of the DUP, neither the Stormont Assembly or the power-sharing government can function.

Sunak's meetings follow a roundtable with party leaders hosted by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland earlier in the day to discuss solutions to the return of power-sharing government in the region.

Sunak was due to meet businesses and communities in Northern Ireland.

The statement said that the return of naval shipbuilding in Northern Ireland will be made in reference to a proposed deal to assemble three Royal Navy Solid Support Ships at Harland Wolff's shipyard in Belfast.