British Gov to hold meeting to strengthen relations with North
Tuesday, 10 July 2007
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The British government is to hold a meeting of the British/Irish Council at Stormont the day before the first meeting of the North South Ministerial Council in Armagh next week.
The two councils were set up by the Good Friday Agreement and will be meeting for the first time since devolution was restored.
London's move to hold a British/Irish council meeting the day before the North South Ministerial Council meeting is clearly a bid to bolster the DUP leader, Ian Paisley, who will be attending on Tuesday what some unionists have called 'an embryonic all Ireland parliament'.
Gordon Brown will be attending Monday's meeting on his first visit to the North since becoming British prime minister.
The DUP has always insisted that relations between the North and Britain are equal in importance to North/South links.
Mr. Paisley has welcomed the meeting saying for too long the British axis was the poor relation of the North/South one.
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