Joe Biden lands in Northern Ireland, to mark 25 years of Good Friday Agreement

United States President Joe Biden has reached Northern Ireland, starting his four-day visit to the island, where he will extend his support for the country's peace and will celebrate his Irish roots.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greeted the US president at Belfast international airport on Tuesday night. The visit is likely to include economic announcements and events related to Biden’s Irish and Catholic heritage.

While addressing reporters before taking off in Air Force One, Biden said that he wished to safeguard the Good Friday agreement, which the two countries had signed 25 years ago this week, and extend support to Sunak’s post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland.

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Speaking about his priorities during the trip, Biden said, “Make sure the Irish accords and Windsor agreements stay in place. Keep the peace and that’s the main thing. It looks like we’re going to keep our fingers crossed.”

Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and the King’s personal representative for County Antrim, Lord-Lieutenant David McCorkell were also part of the welcoming party.

Biden and Sunak met briefly before the US president was driven away in an armoured car amid a light snowfall.

The US entourage, which included US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and newly-appointed economic envoy to Northern Ireland, Joseph Kennedy III, was preceded by heavy security on both sides of the border.

The streets of central Belfast were sealed by dozens of US secret service and police vehicles on Tuesday. Security officials lifted and checked manhole covers andhotel rooms were inspected by sniffer dogs as part of the £7 million security operation – in which 300 extra police personnel from the British mainland were also engaged.

Four suspected pipe bombs were recovered by the police from a cemetery in Derry where an Easter Monday commemoration was staged by the Republicans that led to petrol bomb attacks on police.

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Police Service of Northern Ireland assistant chief constable Bobby Singleton said that the discovery of pipe bombs was a “sinister and worrying development”.

The Police Federation for Northern Ireland stated that this was a clear indication of intent to harm police officers. Biden and Sunak will again hold talks on Wednesday after which the US president will give a speech at Ulster University in Belfast, which is his only public engagement in Northern Ireland before he heads south for three days of pilgrimage in Ireland.

On Tuesday, Downing Street denied a report published by the New York Times that the White House had scaled back the meeting of Biden with Sunak from a bilateral event to a low-key meeting. “I wouldn’t characterise it as that. We continue to have an incredibly positive working relationships with the president and the US government,” a spokesperson said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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