A senior U.S. source said President Joe Biden would honor the 25th anniversary of Northern Ireland’s 1998 peace settlement in Belfast on Wednesday and discuss his “strong desire” to enhance U.S. investment there with political leaders.
Biden, proud of his Irish background, will spend little over half a day in the U.K., including a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, before heading south to the Irish Republic for two-and-a-half days of speeches and meetings with officials and distant relatives.
The devolved powersharing government, a major feature of the 1998 peace settlement, has not convened for almost a year owing to a dispute over post-Brexit trade arrangements.
Britain’s exit from the E.U. also strained relations with Biden’s White House as London and Brussels battled to reach a divorce arrangement that would not undermine the peace pact.
“His message is going to be the ongoing strong support for seeing the peace process move forward here,” U.S. National Security Council Senior Director for Europe Amanda Sloat told reporters before Biden spoke at a Belfast university.
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