A day like today is not a day for soundbites, really. But I feel the hand of history upon our shoulders. I really do.

It is also perhaps fitting that here in Northern Ireland a good part of our discussions focused on the Middle East,

Yet here we are for all the difficulties in Northern Ireland able to point back to real improvements in the security and the standards of living,

This year, 2006, is a very decisive year for Northern Ireland.

We have never come this far before. We've never been this close to a lasting settlement in Northern Ireland,

a step of unparalleled magnitude in the recent history of Northern Ireland.