Delegation of Egyptian political and business leaders visit Belfast for meetings, 02nd-04th December 2014

Forward Thinking, with the support of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, brought a delegation of Egyptian political and business leaders to Belfast for a number of meetings with Northern Irish politicians, academics and NGOs. The purpose of this visit was to allow the delegates to hold in depth discussions on the conflict in Northern Ireland, its eventual Peace Process, and its relevance, if any, to Egypt today.A range of meetings were held with members of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Féin, which allowed participants to listen to and discuss the Unionist and Republican perspectives on the successes, challenges and failures of Northern Ireland's own transition. Discussions explored several themes including how the parties in Northern Ireland were able to move from almost thirty years of armed conflict into an inclusive political process, the role of religion in the conflict, and how the issues of transitional justice and reconciling with the past continue to pose challenges to Northern Ireland's political process.In addition to the meetings with politicians, the delegation also met with Queen's University Belfast 's Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation and Social Justice, where a rich debate took place on the different issues that face countries emerging from conflict. Finally the delegates were given a tour of the city by the Skainos Center, visiting Unionist and Republican communities so that they could see first hand the "peace walls" that remain in place and other legacies of the conflict.