President Joe Biden has called for the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive — on ice for over a year now as part of a protest by the unionist DUP against the Brexit deal — to be restored in the North of Ireland.
Mr. Biden made the remarks during a keynote address at Ulster University on Wednesday afternoon on a visit to Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Join me in Belfast as I deliver remarks marking 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement and our support for economic growth that benefits all communities. https://t.co/Xy30Yo564N
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 12, 2023
On the challenges of Brexit, Biden said he recognised the "complex challenges" the UK's departure from the EU created in the North.
Biden paid tribute to the "personal leadership" of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen to reach an agreement on the Windsor Framework.
"I would encourage leaders in the UK and the EU to address the issues in a way that serves Northern Ireland's best interests.
"The agreement offers stability and predictability and encourages greater investment in Northern Ireland."
President Biden then called for the Assembly and the Executive to "soon be restored".
"That's a decision for you to make, not for me to make. Northern Ireland will not go back, pray God."
In his closing remarks, Biden pledged that the US will continue to be Northern Ireland's partner in "building the future that the young people of our world deserve".
Sometimes — especially with the distance of history — we forget how hard-earned the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement's peace was.
It shifted the political gravity of our world.
I want the people of Northern Ireland to know: we were with you every step of the way. And we still are.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 12, 2023
"It matters to us, to Americans, and to me personally," he said.
"Preserving peace and the Belfast Good Friday Agreement is a priority for Democrats and Republicans in America.
"Your future is America’s future."
He added that 25 "extraordinary years" should be celebrated by recommitting to renewal and repair and by making peace the birthright of "every child of Northern Ireland for all the days to come".
