UK Prime Minister To Call For Closer Cooperation At British-Irish Council Summit

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2022) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak will attend the opening of the 38th British-Irish Council summit on Thursday to call for closer collaboration in tackling shared issues, the government said.

Sunak will be the first UK prime minister to attend the BIC summit since 2007. He will be joined by other officials from London and representatives of the Irish government, as well as of subnational governments across the British Isles.

"Opening the summit, the Prime Minister will call on all representatives to focus on tackling shared issues through closer collaboration," the statement read.

Sunak will urge participants to "be pragmatic" and work together in the face of "huge challenges" emanating from the crumbling global economy and conflict in Ukraine.

"Let's deliver for all our people across these great islands - and build a future defined not by division, but by unity and hope," he will say, as quoted in the statement.

Ahead of the summit, Sunak will hold a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon and First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford. Sunak will describe the absence of representation from Northern Ireland at the summit as "disappointing" and say that the BIC can help resolve the political crisis in Belfast.

Northern Ireland has a system of "mandatory coalition," which implies that the largest Unionist and Nationalist parties should form a united government. Since parties have not been able to come to consensus since February, a functioning executive cannot currently be formed in Northern Ireland.

The British-Irish Council is an intergovernmental organization comprising the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and three Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey). Its goals are to promote cooperation and improve relationships among participants.