PETER Robinson and Martin McGuinness have attended a Hong Kong event hosted by a group that fosters links between people who have a Northern Ireland connection.
The not-for-profit organisation is based on an intriguing idea.
We live in an age that is alert to the power of connections.
In Britain, there has been a political resurgence of those who attended the elite boarding school Eton.
In the United States, all nine of the country’s Supreme Court justices — the most powerful judges in the world — are graduates of just two universities, Harvard and Yale.
This dominance of people from a few educational establishments is likely both a reflection of the excellence of the institutions, but also of the bond between people who have a shared experience.
That sense of something in common is one people feel about Northern Ireland, wherever they are globally, or however far back the link.
It is still possible in England to meet World War Two veterans who have fond memories of serving here during that conflict.
Even many of the vast pool of soldiers who did a Troubles tour have some positive recollections.
Then there are the scores of thousands of emigrants who grew up here, or incomers who worked here for a time, or those who regularly visited because they married someone from here, and so on.
People tend not to forget Northern Ireland. This is a benefit to being a small, distinctive community.
It is hard to imagine the larger number of people who have a London link feeling a bond.
It is wise to use our shared sense for the economic benefit of Ulster, and it is fitting that our leaders endorsed it in dynamic Hong Kong.