Joe Biden hails Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal and says it’ll pave the way for economic boom in Northern Ireland
US President Joe Biden yesterday hailed Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal — insisting it paved the way for economic boom in Northern Ireland.
He said US firms were ready to pour in billions since the Prime Minister’s trade agreement slashed EU red tape.
After arriving in Belfast, Mr Biden said: “There are scores of major American corporations wanting to come here, wanting to invest.
“Many have already made homes in Northern Ireland employing over 30,000 people. And in just the past decade, American business has generated almost two billion dollars in investment in the region.”
In a speech at Ulster University, Mr Biden praised the “personal leadership” of Mr Sunak and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in sealing the Windsor Framework.
And he urged leaders to end the political paralysis in the province.
The US President said power-sharing at Stormont established under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement must be restored as he marked 25 years of the peace accords.
Mr Biden declared: “The Windsor Framework addresses the practical realities of Brexit and is an essential step to ensuring the hard-earned peace and progress of the Good Friday Agreement is preserved and strengthened.
“In 25 years, Northern Ireland’s gross domestic product has doubled.
“And I predict to you that if things continue to move in the right direction, it will more than triple.”
Mr Biden’s visit risked being overshadowed by unionist claims that he was “anti-British”.
Former Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster hit out: “He hates the United Kingdom. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.”
DUP MP Sammy Wilson piled in: “He has a record of being pro-Republican, anti-Unionist, anti-British.”
President Biden has been dubbed the “most Irish President since JFK” and will visit his distant relatives in the Republic’s County Mayo and County Louth.
However, quizzed on the allegations his national security aide Amanda Sloat hit back: “I think the track record of the President shows that he’s not anti-British.”
Mr Biden added: “As a friend, I hope it’s not too presumptuous for me to say that I believe democratic institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement remain critical for the future of Northern Ireland.”
He earlier met Belfast actor James Martin, who has Down’s syndrome and starred in the Oscar-winning film An Irish Goodbye.
Mr Sunak, who had tea with his US counterpart, said the relationship was in “great shape” and we were “very close partners and allies”.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson — refusing to restore power sharing — said the visit “doesn’t change the political dynamic in Northern Ireland.”
He added that Mr Sunak’s Brexit deal needs to “go further” in protecting the province.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister thanked President Biden for the role the US’s people and businesses have played in Northern Ireland’s prosperity, with billions of pounds of investment creating tens of thousands of jobs.”
The New IRA are suspected of targeting police with four viable pipe bombs found in a cemetery in Londonderry after a Republican parade.