Northern Ireland's emergence from conflict may hold vital clues for other regions troubled by disputes over national allegiances, the First Minister, Mr David Trimble, told an international audience, which included the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Yasser Arafat, in the Palestinian city of Gaza.
While it was too early to guarantee that the Belfast Agreement would work in full, he remained optimistic that enough had been learned to allow the differing traditions to live together in peace, Mr Trimble added.
Recent events in eastern Europe had shown that in some cases ethnicity needed to be respected by recognising the need for the existence of separate states, he said.
Mr Trimble will meet the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, today and will lay wreaths at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and the British first World War military cemetery.