The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill

A royal visit, a bright future

by Nigel Sheinwald - 05/17/11 6:09 PM ET

Things were already changing in the 1980s, with the first Anglo-Irish agreement, the beginning of real cooperation between London and Dublin, and the resolute stand of the American political leadership against violence and for peaceful change.

Since the historic Good Friday agreement of 1998, and thanks since then to the tireless work of successive administrations, congressional and Irish-American leaders and many others in the U.K., Ireland and most importantly Northern Ireland itself, the troubled North has found peace. The fact that the Northern Ireland Assembly elections a few weeks ago passed off with so little attention from the world’s media is a sign of how far things have come.

The Queen’s visit to Ireland would have been impossible during that troubled and divided time. Today, just as Northern Ireland has found political normality, the visit confirms a return to the kind of relationship which two such close neighbors should have.

While in Ireland, The Queen will recognize its shared history with the U.K. by paying tribute to the foundation of the Irish State at the Garden of Remembrance, and by attending a ceremony to commemorate the Irish who died in the First World War.

But the U.K. and Ireland are profoundly intertwined not just in our history, but in our economies, cultures and daily lives. Every week, we do more than $1.6 billion in trade with one another. The value of U.K. exports to Ireland is greater than the combined value of our exports to China, India, Brazil and Russia.

The actions of the British and Irish governments to restore the stability of our financial sectors have been a prime example of how renewed cooperation between Ireland and the United Kingdom serves the interest of both our nations. Nearly 3 million visitors travel from Britain to Ireland every year. More than 6 million people in the U.K. are Irish, or have a parent or grandparent who is.

So while it is the past which gives the Queen’s visit its special significance, our two countries’ focus now is firmly on the future.

Sheinwald is the British ambassador to the United States.