Dublin - Ireland's Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and former British premier Tony Blair Friday marked the 10th anniversary of the agreement which paved the way for a power-sharing administration in Northern Ireland. Former US senator George Mitchell, who helped broker the agreement, was also on hand, saying the agreement would not have come about without Blair and Ahern and that the people of Ireland owed them a great debt of gratitude.
The so-called Good Friday Agreement was signed in Belfast on April 10, 1998 and led to the formation of an administration between pro-British Unionists and pro-Irish Nationalists in the British- controlled province.
The three men met prior to a gala charity dinner in the Irish capital.
At about the same time, across the Atlantic in New York city, four public employee unions committed to investing 150 million dollars of their retirement funds in Northern Ireland.
In Dublin, Blair said the relationship between Britain and Ireland had been transformed.
"Without the personal effort and leadership provided by Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, there would not have been a Good Friday Agreement, and certainly there would not have been an agreement in the form that was eventually reached," Mitchell said.
The charity event was to include over 200 guests, among them Northern Ireland politician John Hume, U2 frontman Bono and Africa campaigner Bob Geldof.
"It is particularly appropriate that we honour Tony Blair, his achievements and his huge personal commitment to the cause of peace in Northern Ireland as we mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement," Ahern said earlier Friday.
Blair left office in June 2007 after 10 years in office. Ahern steps down in May after 11 years heading the Irish government.
The dinner was organized by the Turn the Tide of Suicide group.
In New York, there was more concrete evidence of Northern Ireland's progress as New York City committed to investing 150 million dollars of public employee pension funds in Northern Ireland.
"This investment confirms that Northern Ireland has turned a corner," said Northern Ireland's First Minister Ian Paisley, who was on hand for the announcement..
His deputy, Martin McGuinness, noted the input from firefighters, police officers, teachers and city employees who were on hand for the announcement, saying it was "the ordinary people of the US investing in the future of the ordinary people of the north of Ireland."
The money will be channelled through a wider 750-million-dollar investment fund, to be known as the Emerald Fund, whose headquarters will be in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.
The investment was described as the largest ever public investment from the US in Northern Ireland.
Thompson said New York City was "optimistic" about "strong returns" from the "expanding Northern Ireland economy."
