Dublin, Ireland, Jun 19, 2007 / 09:41 am
People living in the world's conflict areas, particularly in the Middle East, should draw inspiration from Northern Ireland's ability to compromise after nearly four decades of bloodshed, said the president of the Republic of Ireland, Mary McAleese.
McAleese, a Belfast-born Catholic, said Monday in a speech to a Protestant-dominated city council in Northern Ireland that both parts of Ireland are benefiting from an "emerging culture of courtesy in which wisdom and experience are shared and partnerships encouraged where it makes sense to do so."
The Associated Press reported that McAleese said the Irish Republic wants to invest in better relations since the May 8 revival of a Catholic-Protestant administration in Northern Ireland, which was a goal of the province's 1998 peace accord.
The mostly Catholic south has committed to spending more than 400 million pounds (US$800 million) on improving cross-border roads in the British territory, she said.