SYDNEY Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, due to visit Australia for the first time next month, said Monday he was looking forward to meeting government, political and union leaders. Previously banned because of his connections to the Irish Republican Army, Adams was given a visa to enter Australia following his involvement in the Irish peace process. I am delighted to have been invited to Australia and to now have the opportunity to take up that invitation, Adams said in a statement released here by organizers of his visit.

He will arrive in Sydney on February 15 and intends to spend two days in Sydney as well as visiting Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth during an eight-day trip. Adams is expected to meet a wide range of representatives of the Irish-Australian community, the trade union movement, political parties and state and national governments. He said Australia had played a constructive and positive role in the search for peace in Ireland and he hoped his visit would strengthen the historical and economic ties binding the two countries.

I will also use my visit to update people and political leaders on the current state of the peace process in Ireland and the difficulties which currently exist in implementing the Good Friday agreement, he said. On Good Friday last April, an accord was reached to end sectarian violence and bring peace to Northern Ireland for the first time in decades.

Like other conflict resolution processes, the international community has played a significant role in consolidating and building on the efforts which are being made to achieve a democratic peace settlement, Adams said. Australia has made an important contribution so far and it is my hope it will continue to play that role. (AFP)