Biden in NI: US President says ‘protecting peace’ a priority as he encourages restoration of Stormont
Posted by Jim on April 12, 2023
Emma Montgomery and Christopher Leebody
Belfast Telegraph
Today at 08:25
Protecting peace in Northern Ireland is a “priority” for all sides in Washington and politicians in Stormont should restore the Assembly and Executive.
That was the message delivered by US President Joe Biden during his keynote speech in Ulster University on Wednesday afternoon.
In the speech, Mr Biden touched on the benefits peace has brought to the country, delivered a direct message to the political leaders gathered in the room and in a light-hearted moment, triggered huge applause when he referenced An Irish Goodbye Oscar winning actor James Martin.
Mr Biden said the “dividends of peace are all around us”, as he addressed a gathering.
“This very campus is situated at an intersection where conflict and bloodshed once held a terrible sway,” he said.
“The idea to have a glass building here when I was here in ’91 was highly unlikely.
“Where barbed wire once sliced up the city, today we find a cathedral of learning built of glass and let the light shine in and out.
“This has a profound impact for someone who has come back to see it.
“Its an incredible testament to the power and the possibilities of peace.”
“Your history is our history, but even more important your future is America’s future,” the US president added.
“Today’s Belfast is the beating heart of Northern Ireland and is poised to drive unprecedented economic opportunity and investment, from communities across the UK, across Ireland, across the United States. The simple truth is that peace and economic opportunity go together.
“The 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland’s gross domestic product has literally doubled.”
The president said that figure would only improve if “things continue to move in the right direction”.
“There are scores of major American corporations wanting to come here, wanting to invest. Many have already made homes in Northern Ireland.”
One of the key moments in the speech by the President came around the restoration of powersharing at Stormont.
He said: “I believe the democratic institution established in the Good Friday Agreement remain critical to the future of Northern Ireland.
“It’s a decision for you to make, not for me to make.”
But he said “an effective, devolved government that reflects the people of Northern Ireland and is accountable to them, a government that works to find ways through hard problems together” would help draw “even greater opportunity” to the region.
“I hope the assembly and the executive will soon be restored,” he said.
“That’s a judgment for you to make, not me.
“I hope it happens, along with the institutions that help facilitate north-south and east-west relations, all of which are vital pieces of the Good Friday Agreement.”
Earlier he held an informal meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over tea in the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast.
The US president has told reporters he is “here to listen” as he met Mr Sunak.
Mr Biden faced a volley of questions from reporters, including whether he had a message for Northern Irish parties and why he was not discussing a trade deal while on his visit to the UK.
Mr Biden, meeting the Prime Minister on the upper floors of the Grand Central Hotel, said: “Heck of a view out there.”
Mr Sunak, smiling, sat at a table with the US president as the pair met over cups of tea.
A number of Northern Ireland politicians were at Ulster University for Mr Biden’s speech to officially open the city centre campus.
Mr Biden was greeted by Mr Sunak shortly after he touched down at 9.20pm on Tuesday, before heading to a city centre hotel amid a flurry of armoured cars.
Mr Biden is undertaking a four-day visit to the island of Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.