London, (Samajweekly) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Micheal Martin have agreed to work together to “maintain smooth trade” between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.
The agreement came during a meeting between the two leaders on Friday at Chequers, the country house of Johnson, reports Xinhua news agency.
“They agreed on the importance of working together to uphold the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and to maintain smooth trade between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland,” a statement from 10 Downing Street said.
Taking to Twitter, Johnson said: “We are both committed to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and to addressing the legacy of the troubles to deliver a brighter future for everyone in Northern Ireland.”
Due to the post-Brexit trade deal, food products from Britain to the European Union (EU) will have to enter through new border control posts at Northern Ireland’s ports, as stated in the Northern Ireland protocol signed by London and Brussels in 2019.
Northern Ireland will continue to apply EU customs rules at its ports, to allow goods to flow into the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the EU.
This is known as the Irish sea border, which is a new trade border between Northern Ireland and other parts of Britain.
Also on Friday, Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots was elected leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, a pro-British political party in the region.
Poots is reportedly seen by some commentators as more aggressive in his opposition to Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade barriers and more conservative on social issues than his opponent, Jeffrey Donaldson.
