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The American leader will be part of the commemorations of the Good Friday Agreements, which put an end to the violence in the territory. The alarms are on for possible attacks or violent mobilizations. For example, the police collected homemade bombs in a cemetery after riots on Monday.
Late this Tuesday, April 11, the President of the United States will be part of the celebrations that will take place in Northern Ireland in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreements, which brought an end to an extensive period of violence in this northern territory. United Kingdom.
Joe Biden, who will be received by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is expected to highlight the progress Belfast has made since the 1998 agreements were signed, according to the White House spokeswoman.
While it is estimated that he will have a meeting with the representatives of the five main parties in the province before a speech at the University of Ulster, in the Northern Irish capital.
However, the situation in the north of the island is not the best and is one of the main concerns that the British prime minister has on his agenda. Northern Ireland is in the midst of economic stagnation and security conditions for this Tuesday are not guaranteed.
Indeed, on Monday youths detonated Molotov cocktails at police vehicles during an illegal dissenting Republican march in Londonderry. While this Tuesday, the police reported that they recovered four suspected homemade bombs from a nearby cemetery after a public security operation.
Among Biden’s objectives will be to strengthen ties and seek trade agreements for the United States and Northern Ireland to build a stronger relationship.
A few weeks ago, the United Kingdom and the European Union updated the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol -with the support of Biden- to generate more beneficial conditions for the region that was worst affected by Brexit.
The Northern Irish political context has also been convulsed since the electoral victory of Sinn Fein, which has a pro-Irish philosophy and was one of the sectors that has most tried to overthrow British patronage and the cohabitation of both governments on the island.
The DUP, the main unionist party and leader of the opposition to Sinn Fein, warned that the US president’s visit, the first by a US head of state in a decade, will not influence calls to protest against trade rules imposed after the Brexit. This political formation rejects that, despite Brexit, free movement is maintained on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Historically Biden has advocated for the pro-Irish benefit in the conflict. The reasons lie in her Irish family origins, which she has spoken with pride in the past. Also scheduled on her tour is a three-day visit to the Republic of Ireland starting Wednesday.
“Since Kennedy, there has not been a president as Irish-American as Biden and we look forward to welcoming him home,” said Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, with whom he is scheduled to meet.
The schedule also records a meeting with President Michael Higgins, a speech in Dublin Parliament, a dinner at the capital’s Castle and a tour of his ancestral home.
with Reuters
