Biden accepts Rishi Sunak’s invitation to Northern Ireland for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement — and jokes he can also go to the UK Prime Minister’s $7.2 million Santa Monica home
- Biden said he plans to visit Northern Ireland and Ireland in April
- British Prime Minister Sunak invited him to a meeting in San Diego
- It is the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement
President Joe Biden accepted an invitation from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday to visit Northern Ireland next month.
Sunak made the invitation during a meeting with Biden at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, suggesting he come in April to celebrate the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
“I know it’s something very special and personal to you. We would like to have you,” the prime minister told the US president.
Biden is proud of his Irish roots, speaking of them often and quoting an Irish poet in most of his speeches.
And he plans to make the trip.
“My intention is to go to Northern Ireland and the Republic,” Biden said in response to a question from DailyMail.com.
President Joe Biden accepted British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s invitation to visit Northern Ireland next month
Biden has long made it clear that he wanted to visit Ireland as president, but Northern Ireland’s trading status caused diplomatic headaches when it came to a presidential visit.
But that obstacle was removed when Britain and the European Union agreed on the Windsor Framework, which opened the way for trade across the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, essentially remained in the European Union market, along with its neighbor the Republic of Ireland, an independent country when Britain voted to leave the EU to leave
The Windsor Framework will keep goods moving without upsetting the Good Friday Agreement. The Belfast Agreement is also known as the Good Friday Agreement because it was reached on Good Friday, 10 April 1998. It helped end 30 years of sectarian conflict on the island.
Biden had urged British officials to protect the deal as they issued post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland.
‘Twenty-five years. Seems like yesterday. Like yesterday,” the president mused about Sunak’s invitation. “Thank you,” he added.
Biden’s mother’s family – the Finnegans – were Irish-American immigrants.
Joe Biden last visited Ireland in an official capacity in 2016 as Vice President – above Biden on that 2016 trip with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny
Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy have a luxury apartment in Santa Monica – the building is above – overlooking the ocean
President Biden speaks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego at his event
Biden last visited Ireland in an official capacity in 2016 as vice president. That visit included stops in Dublin, Mayo and Louth – the capital city plus the two counties of his ancestors.
Biden and Sunak were sidelined at a meeting of the aukus leadership – the joint pact between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
The president noted that Sunak was at home in California.
The Prime Minister is a graduate of Sanford University where he met his wife, Akshata Murthy. The couple owns a luxury apartment in Santa Monica overlooking the ocean. It is valued at $7.2 million.
Biden hinted that he would like an invite.
“I want to welcome him to California. He’s a Stanford man and still has a home here in California. If I’m nice to him, he might invite me to his home in California,” the president said as Sunak chuckled.
The two leaders were also expected to discuss their support for Ukraine during the Russian invasion. The meeting came after Biden announced he will sell three fast-attack nuclear submarines to Australia in a deal with the United Kingdom to combat the growing threat from China.