London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 20, 2026

Rishi Sunak praises Good Friday Agreement ahead of Joe Biden visit

Rishi Sunak praises Good Friday Agreement ahead of Joe Biden visit

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has described the Good Friday Agreement as an "incredible moment in our nation's history" as he prepares to commemorate its 25th anniversary with US President Joe Biden in Belfast this week.

The 1998 peace deal ended Northern Ireland's decades-long violent conflict known as the Troubles.

Mr Sunak will welcome the US president to Northern Ireland on Tuesday evening.

They will attend events in Belfast to mark 25 years since the agreement.

The prime minister said the agreement was a "powerfully rare example of people doing the previously unthinkable to create a better future" for Northern Ireland.

"It is that promise of a better future that we offered to everyone in Northern Ireland that I will be thinking of first and foremost over the coming days," he said.

"Making good" on that promise was his responsibility as prime minister, he added.

Speaking on Sunday, Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar said he plans to "intensify" engagement with Mr Sunak over the Windsor Framework and power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

"One thing I've been struck by watching all the documentaries around the history of the Good Friday Agreement was the extent to which the taoiseach and the prime minister had to be in lock-step, and now that we have the agreement on the protocol, I think it's possible to do that.

"Certainly since Brexit, and even before Brexit, that sort of level of cooperation between the two governments, the two governments working hand-in-hand, hasn't been the same.

"And that's largely because we found ourselves in very different positions."

Leo Varadkar will host a bilateral meeting with President Biden at Farmleigh on Thursday


On Wednesday Mr Sunak will address a Queen's University Belfast conference about the Good Friday Agreement and will later host a gala dinner to commemorate the anniversary.

He has also announced that the UK will host a Northern Ireland investment summit in September.

It will connect international investors with Northern Ireland businesses and showcase the "best of what Northern Ireland has to offer", said the government.


What will Biden do in Belfast?


President Biden is due to make a speech at Ulster University's newly-opened Belfast campus on Wednesday.

It is understood that he will leave Northern Ireland that afternoon to travel to the Republic of Ireland.

His visit to Northern Ireland will be shorter than many people had expected when it was first announced last month.

Speaking after a 1916 Easter Rising commemoration in Dublin on Sunday, Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald expressed disappointment that Mr Biden would not be addressing assembly members in Stormont, RTÉ reports.

"The eyes of the world are on Ireland and the north of Ireland in particular and we have a limbo situation," she said.

Ms McDonald added that the president's visit to Northern Ireland is more "low key" than in the Republic of Ireland.

The UK and Irish government have said it should not be seen as a snub.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said people should "make the most" of the visit and ensure it was a "positive event".

Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) Micheál Martin said it would be a "manifestation of [Mr Biden's] genuine commitment to the people of Northern Ireland".

"There are many countries across the EU that would love a visit from the American president," he added.

Police in Northern Ireland have said their resources will be stretched during the president's visit.

Last week it said it had "very strong intelligence" that dissident republicans were planning attacks in Londonderry to coincide with Easter and Good Friday Agreement events.

More officers are being put on frontline duty for the coming days.


Where will Biden visit in Ireland?


During his three days in the Republic of Ireland, Mr Biden will attend engagements in Dublin, County Louth, and County Mayo.

The White House has said he is expected to address the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) on Thursday.

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar said he was delighted that President Biden would be visiting Ireland.

"When we spoke recently in the White House President Biden was clear that in celebrating the Good Friday Agreement we should be looking ahead, not backwards," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
EU Imposes Record €550 Million Digital Services Fine on AliExpress
London’s Housing Starts Collapse as Planning and Building Costs Stall Development
Charlie Sheen’s Daughter: "My Dad Didn’t Buy Me a House, My Breasts Bought It"
Vivienne Westwood Casts Cicciolina, 74, in Its New Autumn Campaign
Dejavu: Germany’s Military Expansion Reshapes Europe’s Strategic Balance With France
Naturally Conceived Identical Quadruplets Born in Rare Brisbane Delivery
Tate Brothers Fight British Extradition Bid After Miami Arrests
Burnham Reshapes Britain’s Government Around Living Costs, Devolution and Security
Jingye Demands Full Compensation After Britain illegally Nationalized British Steel
Just Another Liar or a Robin Hood? Andy Burnham Pledges Cost-of-Living Help in First Speech as UK Prime Minister
Morgan Stanley Builds a Wall Street Lead in AI Infrastructure Finance
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Brilliant move: Péter Magyar Moves to Nominate Chess Grandmaster Judit Polgár as Hungary’s President
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Police Block Cockroach Janta Party’s March to Parliament as Education Protests Intensify
Current AI Seeks to Build an Open Global AI Infrastructure Outside Big Tech Control
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
Josh Kerr Breaks Twenty-Seven-Year World Mile Record at London Diamond League
Thames Water Crisis Deepens as South East Water Outages Hit Thousands in Kent
EU Ban on Destroying Unsold Clothing Forces British Fashion Brands to Change Operations
UK Government Confirms Existing North Sea Oil and Gas Licences Will Be Honoured
UK Covid Inquiry Finds Nearly Ten Billion Pounds Lost in Pandemic Protective Equipment Procurement
Thames Water Moves Toward Possible Temporary Nationalisation Amid Rescue Plan Dispute
Andy Burnham Cancels One Point Eight Billion Pound Digital ID Programme After Taking Office
UK Government Takes British Steel Into Full Public Ownership to Protect Jobs and Supply Chains
Andy Burnham Becomes UK Prime Minister and Pledges Focus on Living Costs and Public Services
Germany’s Economic Malaise Reopens the Sunday Shopping Debate
Singapore Considers Lower Taxes for Fund Managers as Hong Kong Intensifies Talent Contest
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Bank of Asia BVI Enters Court-Supervised Liquidation After Regulators Find It Insolvent
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Netherlands Declares Water Shortage Emergency After Drought Pushes Rivers to Historic Lows
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate Who Turned "Toxic Masculinity" Into a Brand Arrested in Miami as Britain Seeks Their Extradition
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
Gold and Cash Seizure Puts Indonesia’s Senior Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Under Investigation
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Bank of England Warns Climate Shocks Could Trigger Sudden Asset Repricing
UK Treasury Places Microsoft, Google, AWS and Oracle Under New Financial Resilience Rules
Scottish Government Faces Pressure Over Delays in Vulnerable Group Background Checks
Crown Prosecution Service Authorises Additional Charges Against Andrew and Tristan Tate
NHS Approves At-Home Cancer Treatments for Rare Blood Disorders
Bank of England Gains Oversight of Major Cloud Providers Supporting UK Financial System
UK Government Plans Major Overhaul of English Local Councils Through New Unitary Authorities
British Steel Nationalisation Dispute Escalates as Chinese Owner Jingye Seeks Compensation
×