London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will meet US President Joe Biden in Northern Ireland next week when the US President flies in to attend events marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Peace Agreement. News agency ANI quoted Sky News as saying that Biden, who often talks proudly about his Irish roots and America’s role in the peace deal, will arrive on Air Force One on Tuesday evening. The US President will deliver a keynote speech at Ulster University on Wednesday and hold a formal meeting with Sunak.
It is expected that British PM Sunak will use this visit to increase long term investments for the country. A major policing operation costing around £7 million and supported by around 300 officers will get underway around the anniversary after the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) warned of the possibility of attacks being launched by dissident republicans.
The threat of terrorism in Northern Ireland
Notably, the US President’s visit comes amid an increased terror threat in Northern Ireland, and power-sharing is still stalled at Stormont due to post-Brexit tensions. Biden will leave for the Republic from Northern Ireland on Wednesday, where he will visit Dublin, Co Louth and Co Mayo.
MI5 recently raised the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.
British PM hails Northern Ireland’s historic 1988 peace deal
Meanwhile, Sunak on Sunday praised Northern Ireland’s historic 1988 peace deal. He was 17 when the Good Friday Agreement was agreed upon, largely ending three decades of violence in the British province.
In a statement released by Downing Street, Sunak said the signing of the Good Friday Agreement was an “incredible moment” in UK history. The agreement ended a 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland that has claimed more than 3,500 lives, Sky News reported.
“It is the promise of a better future that we have offered to everyone in Northern Ireland that I will be thinking about first and foremost in the days ahead.” On that promise.” Sunak was “relentlessly focused” on delivering economic growth in Northern Ireland, which he said was vital to improving living standards, the statement said.
Sunak would attend several events the following week to celebrate the signing of the US-brokered peace deal on 10 April 1998, agreed between the governments and Northern Irish political parties in London and Dublin. Sunak’s Downing Street office said the pair would undertake a “programme of engagements”, including a bilateral meeting.
(With ANI inputs)
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