Rishi Sunak to meet Biden as PM promises to 'make good' on Good Friday Agreement

08 April 2023 , 23:01

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No10 confirmed Rishi Sunak will meet with Joe Biden during his visit (Image: Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak will meet with Joe Biden this week as the US president visits Norther Ireland to mark 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement, Downing Street has confirmed.

Ahead of the visit, the Prime Minister said "making good" on the peace deal’s pledge of a "better future" for the nation is first and foremost on his mind ahead of the anniversary.

The trip will also mark Mr Sunak’s first visit to Northern Ireland since becoming Prime Minister.

But it comes amid a heightened terror threat in Northern Ireland and powersharing in Stormont remaining collapsed amid post-Brexit tensions.

Signed on April 10 1998, the Good Friday Agreement ended the 30-year conflict of the Troubles, during which more than 3,500 people were killed.

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Mr Sunak will meet the US president off Air Force One when he arrives on Tuesday evening.

The PM will meet the President as he arrives on Air Force One (AP)

Mr Biden, intensely proud of his Irish heritage and the US's role in the peace accord, will take part in a series of engagements in Belfast including a formal meeting with the Prime Minister.

In a statement, Mr Sunak said the signing of the Good Friday Agreement was an "incredible moment" in the history of the UK.

"It was a powerfully rare example of people doing the previously unthinkable to create a better future for Northern Ireland," he said.

"It is that promise of a better future that we offered to everyone in Northern Ireland that I will be thinking of first and foremost over the coming days.

"It is my responsibility as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to ensure we are making good on that promise."

Mikey Smith