US President Biden on Northern Ireland: “Peace and Prosperity Go Together”

In a speech in Belfast, US President Biden recalled the importance of the Good Friday Agreement. He predicted a bright economic future for Northern Ireland – and praised the Brexit deal between London and Brussels.

US President Joe Biden paid tribute to the courage and determination of the people of Northern Ireland in a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in Belfast.

“Looking back, we forget how hard-won that peace was and how amazing it was,” Biden said in a speech at the University of Ulster in the Northern Irish capital, Belfast. The United States was instrumental in bringing about the historic peace accord.

Biden predicts economic growth for Northern Ireland

“Their story is our story,” Biden, who is of Irish descent, told the people of Northern Ireland. “But most importantly, your future is America’s future.”

Peace and prosperity go hand in hand, Biden emphasized. “Keep calm and unleash this incredible economic potential that is just beginning to emerge,” he said, pledging that America would build a future with the British continent.

Northern Ireland’s GDP has doubled since peace was signed in 1998, with Biden adding: “I predict it will triple if things continue to move in the right direction.” Many American companies are interested in investing in Northern Ireland.

US prioritizes peace in Northern Ireland

Biden praised the deal reached in February to resolve the dispute between London and Brussels over Brexit. The US president also reiterated his hope that the regional parliament and government in Northern Ireland, which is currently inoperable due to a blockade by the Protestant Unionist DUP party, will soon be able to function again.

Keeping the peace in the British part of the country is a priority for both sides in the United States.

25-year Good Friday Agreement

The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 ended decades of bloody conflict between the majority Catholic supporters of the unification of the two parts of Ireland and the Protestant supporters of Northern Ireland’s union with Britain.

The US President called for the anniversary of the agreement to be celebrated and for past damages to be repaired.

In his speech, Biden sought to spread a sense of optimism. Where barbed wire once divided the city, the University of Ulster is now a church of learning. Today, Belfast is a place of business, art and inspiration. “The fruits of peace are all around us.”

The country is still divided

But even after a quarter of a century, Northern Ireland is still plagued by tension and political paralysis. The DUP does not accept the terms of Brexit and refuses to enter government. Not even Parliament.

In Belfast and Londonderry, which Catholics call only Derry, Catholics and Protestants still live in different parts of the city – “walls of peace” separated by meter-high walls and fences. Kindergartens and even schools are segregated by religion. Shortly before Biden’s visit, a police car was torched in isolated riots.

Biden wanted to fly to Dublin immediately after the speech in Belfast. In Ireland, in addition to negotiations with various politicians, he wants to search for traces of his ancestors.