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President Biden has confirmed he plans to visit Northern Ireland in April to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which U.S. officials helped to broker.
Biden told reporters during a joint press conference with Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Point Loma Naval Base in San Diego, California on March 13: “It’s my intention to go to Northern Ireland and the Republic [of Ireland].”
His comments came in response to an invitation from Sunak, who was also in California to discuss the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) Partnership. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia was also in attendance.
Earlier during the press conference, Sunak had told Biden: “It’s a great pleasure to be here and I look forward to our conversations and also importantly, we invite you to Northern Ireland, which hopefully you will be able to do—so we can commemorate the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.”
“I know it’s something very special and personal to you. We’d love to have you,” Sunak said to Biden.
The two leaders did not provide further details regarding the planned trip, but more information is widely expected to be revealed in the coming days.Good Friday Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, is a peace agreement signed by the British and Irish governments on April 10, 1998, in order to bring an end to 30 years of violent political conflict in Northern Ireland, also known as “the Troubles”.
