LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak traveled to Northern Ireland on Thursday evening to meet with local political leaders, offering hope that the U.K. and European Union may be nearing a settlement of the post-Brexit trade dispute that has brought economic headaches and political turmoil to the region.

Sunak and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris are making the trip as part of an effort to talk with people on all sides of the issue and ensure any solution resolves “the practical problems on the ground, meets our overarching objectives, and safeguards Northern Ireland’s place in the U.K.’s internal market," the prime minister's office said.

They will face a tough audience: politicians who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the U.K. resigned from the region's power-sharing government almost a year ago because of their opposition to the existing trade deal with the EU, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The protocol was an effort to protect the peace process in Northern Ireland by preserving the free flow of trade between the region and the Republic of Ireland, which share the only land border between the United Kingdom and the EU.

When the U.K. left the bloc, the British government and the EU agreed to keep the border open because the free movement and goods and people was a key pillar of the peace process that ended 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland. But that raised concerns about how the EU would protect its market from British goods that might not meet the bloc's regulatory standards.

As a result, the two sides agreed to conduct checks on some goods as they enter Northern Ireland from other parts of the U.K. Unionists say this effectively creates a border in the middle of the Irish Sea, undermining Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.