© Reuters. U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the annual Friends of Ireland St. Patrick’s Day lunch, which Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheal Martin was unable to attend after he examined constructive for coronavirus illness (COVID-19) after arriving i
By Kanishka Singh and Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden will host Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Friday for a gathering the place they may categorical help for the 1998 Good Friday peace settlement and the current deal between Britain and the European Union on post-Brexit commerce guidelines for Northern Ireland, the White House mentioned.
The leaders will meet within the White House for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration and also will focus on help for Ukraine amid the continuing Russian invasion, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned on Tuesday.
“They will reaffirm their steadfast support for the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement as we approach its 25th anniversary and welcome the recent agreement between the UK and EU on the Windsor Framework as an important step in preserving the Agreement’s peace dividend,” Jean-Pierre mentioned in an announcement.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak final month struck a take care of the European Union on post-Brexit commerce guidelines for Northern Ireland, saying it could pave the way in which for a brand new chapter in London’s relationship with the bloc.
The deal seeks to resolve points raised by the Northern Ireland protocol, a fancy settlement which set the buying and selling guidelines for the British-ruled area that London agreed earlier than it left the EU however later mentioned had been unworkable.
The concern of Northern Ireland has been one of the vital contentious associated to Britain’s 2020 departure from the European Union. A return to a tough border between the province and Ireland, an EU member, might have jeopardised the peace deal.
Biden, who usually speaks with pleasure of his Irish roots, had welcomed the settlement reached final month between Britain and the EU, and described it as an “essential step” to making sure that the peace from the Good Friday Agreement was preserved.