NORTHERN IRELAND FIRST Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly appeared side-by-side last night in the US for their first outing together on the international stage.
It is the first time Northern Ireland’s leaders have officially visited Washington DC together ahead of St Patrick’s Day for eight years.
In 2016, then first minister Arlene Foster and deputy first minister Martin McGuinness met then US president Barack Obama.
The Stormont Assembly and Executive was resurrected in January following two years of instability.
Sinn Féin’s O’Neill and the DUP’s Little-Pengelly addressed the Ireland Funds dinner last night, ahead of attending the St Patrick’s ceremony at the White House on Sunday.
Their message was simple: Northern Ireland is open for business.
O’Neill said Stormont representatives were in the US to advocate for Northern Ireland and set out shared priorities.
“We’re also here with a clarion call to all US investors that we’re open for businesses, that government has been reinstated – it’s functional again,” O’Neill said.
Little-Pengelly said Northern Ireland is a place of “great hope, determination and ambition”.
“We want to work hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder in terms of that investment and building that amazing future we know that Northern Ireland has,” she said.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris praised the two leaders’ message to the US audience.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Heaton-Harris said: “Two amazing women are leading their nation, bringing a message of positivity about the future about what Northern Ireland can achieve.
“I don’t think you can ask for a better message to this crowd.”
Heaton-Harris said he would be using his time in the US to emphasise that Northern Ireland has unique economic opportunities and that the UK government is “always going to support” the region.
Asked if he felt the Westminster administration had to play catch-up with announcements from the Irish Government about investment in projects in Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Secretary added: “I think we’re pretty comfortable with the £14.8 billion block funding and the £3.3 billion we stuck in to get the Executive back up and running.”
During his speech to the gala, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said there was “new hope and new beginning” for Northern Ireland following the restoration of power-sharing.
“We will do whatever it takes to help build and make the idea of a better future a reality for everyone,” he said.
The gala raised $1.2 million for the Ireland Funds charity, which promotes peace, culture, education and community development across the island of Ireland and around the world.
Varadkar and the Northern Irish political leadership are cheduled to continue engagements across Washington DC today.
With reporting by Christina Finn and Press Association
Political Editor Christina Finn will be in the US throughout the week for the Taoiseach’s visit. Follow @thejournal_ie and @christinafinn8 for all the latest.
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