The upcoming visit of US President-elect Joe Biden to the island of Ireland has been making headlines recently, with many people eagerly anticipating his arrival. According to Irish-American Congressman Brendan Boyle, the eyes of the world will be on Ireland during Biden’s visit, and it’s not hard to see why. As one of the most influential leaders in the world, Biden’s visit has the potential to bring attention to Ireland on a global scale. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what we can expect from the upcoming visit and why it’s a significant event for Ireland.
US President Joe Biden will visit Northern Ireland and the Republic to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Sinn Féin’s Stormont leader Michelle O’Neill said that the President had also been invited to address the Stormont Assembly. Political deadlock has arisen in Northern Ireland since the devolved powersharing institutions collapsed last year as part of a DUP protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements. The UK Government hopes that its new Windsor Framework deal, which the DUP is currently considering, could resolve the deadlock. Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill has welcomed the visit, referring to the US as a ‘key partner for peace’ in Ireland. Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also welcomed the visit, adding that he looked forward to discussing it during his meeting with the President later this week. DUP MP Gregory Campbell also welcomed the visit but warned that the White House should not use it to try and pressurise people into any kind of move on political issues. The visit will present a ‘wonderful opportunity to showcase the island of Ireland’, according to Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland.
