Sunak tours Northern Ireland to sell new Brexit deal

London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday said he is “over the moon” with the Brexit agreement inked with the European Union (EU) aimed at resolving long-standing trade issues in the region.

Sunak is currently touring Northern Ireland to sell the new “Windsor Framework” agreed between the UK and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Windsor on Monday, which replaces the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol which caused trade disputes and severely strained UK-EU relations.

Sunak later made a statement in the House of Commons to declare that the new deal delivers “free-flowing trade” for UK territory Northern Ireland with the rest of Britain by “removing any sense of the border in the Irish Sea” and creates a red lane system to resolve issues with bordering EU member-state Ireland.

“I’m really pleased in fact, I’m over the moon that yesterday we managed to have a decisive breakthrough with our negotiations with the EU,” Sunak told local business representatives gathered at the Coca-Cola factory in County Antrim in Northern Ireland as he took questions from them on the framework.

“It’s about stability in Northern Ireland. It’s about real people and real businesses. It’s about showing that our Union, which has lasted for centuries, can and will endure. And it’s about breaking down the barriers between us,” he said.