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President Joe Biden will be visiting Northern Ireland next week to commemorate a historic agreement that brought peace to the region despite UK intelligence warnings about a potential terror threat in the area.
“President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will travel to the United Kingdom and Ireland from April 11-14,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on April 5. Biden will visit Belfast, Northern Ireland, between April 11 and 22 to mark the 25-year anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and to “underscore the readiness of the United States to support Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities.”
GFA was signed on April 10, 1998, and brought to an end the 30 years of violence over the issue of Northern Ireland either remaining in the United Kingdom or uniting with Ireland. The 25th anniversary is being held to mark the peace that has been made possible through all these years.
However, the potential for conflict remains. In March, UK intelligence raised the terror threat level in Northern Ireland to “severe” from “substantial.” Biden, who is of Irish heritage, had last month stated that the terror threat would not affect his travel plans to the country.
After his visit to Northern Ireland, Biden will then travel to Ireland between April 12 and 14 where the president is expected to discuss both the countries’ cooperation “on the full range of shared global challenges.
