Read why Joe Biden got invited by UK PM to Northern Ireland
The prime minister has stated he will formally invite Joe Biden to Northern Ireland to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Rishi Sunak spoke to journalists while flying to California to meet US president Joe Biden.
He defined next month’s anniversary as an “important milestone to commemorate and honour”.
Joe Biden to visit Northern Ireland for Good Friday Agreement’s anniversary:
Mr Biden has verbally supported the peace agreement, which helped end 30 years of the violent row in NI.
“I know words have said that the president is willing to come to Ireland at some point, but I’ll be asking him formally to commemorate the Good Friday Anniversary in the first instance,” the prime minister stated on Sunday.
“Hopefully, he will be able to come.”
Mr Biden warned that peace in Northern Ireland should not be bothered due to complications caused by Brexit, notably the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The agreement kept Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market for goods, dodging a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.
But it raised new checks on goods coming from Great Britain, leading the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to withdraw from the Stormont Executive in a rally.
‘Positive step’
In February, the UK and EU decided on a new Brexit agreement called the Windsor Framework, which seeks to fix problems surrounding the protocol.
As he visited San Diego to meet Mr Biden and Australian PM Anthony Albanese to discuss a new defence pact, Mr Sunak described the framework as a “positive action”.
“What I’m focusing on now is talking to everyone in Northern Ireland so we can find a positive way to move on and get power-sharing up and running – that’s my focus,” he stated.
Mr Biden said the framework was essential to ensure that hard-earned peace and progress were “maintained and strengthened.”
“I am sure the people and businesses of Northern Ireland will be able to take maximum advantage of the financial opportunities created by this stability and confidence, and the United States stands ready to help the region’s vast financial potential,” he said.
