[Politics] Joe Biden hails Northern Ireland young people on Belfast visit

[BirSaNN]

US President Joe Biden has praised Northern Ireland's young people, saying they are at the "cutting edge" of its future during his visit to Belfast.

Earlier he met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before briefly speaking to some of Stormont's political party leaders.

He is on a four-day visit to Ireland to mark 25 years since the Good Friday peace agreement, which ended decades of violent conflict in Northern Ireland.

He hailed the "tremendous progress" since the deal was signed in 1998.

"This place is transformed by peace; made technicolour by peace; made whole by peace," he said.

He hailed Northern Ireland as a "churn of creativity", having produced some of the world's most po[CENSORED]r films and TV series over the past decade, and said that major economic opportunities for the region were "just beginning".

 

President Biden was speaking as he opened the new Ulster University campus in Belfast, his only official engagement in Northern Ireland.

His visit comes at a time when Northern Ireland's power-sharing government at Stormont is not functioning.

It collapsed last year when the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) - one of the biggest parties - pulled out as part of a protest against post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland.

Mr Biden urged politicians to make a return to governing but praised them for their unity after the attempted murder of one of Northern Ireland's top detectives in February.

John Caldwell was shot several times by two gunmen in Omagh, County Tyrone.

During his speech, the president said: "Northern Ireland will not go back [to violence]."

Mr Sunak visited Mr Caldwell and his family at a hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

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Before briefly meeting the political leaders, Mr Biden was asked what he would say to them.

"I'm going to listen," he answered.

After leaving Belfast early on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Biden flew on Air Force One the Republic of Ireland where he is continuing his tour of the island.

He is to due to meet the Irish President Michael D Higgins and speak to politicians at the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) on Thursday and will meet some of his Irish relatives in County Mayo on Friday.

His sister Valerie and his son Hunter have joined him for the Ireland trip.

President Biden managed to deliver a speech that hit all the right notes with the invited audience.

As he left the stage he was swamped by people armed with their phones for a selfie.

His speech was pitched at reminding people what is at stake - peace, said Mr Biden, cannot be taken for granted.

He reminded those in the room about the risks taken 25 years ago by the architects of the Good Friday Agreement.

Democracy in Northern Ireland needs champions now to do the same, he added.

While he didn't namecheck the DUP it was clear to whom he was directing those comments about getting Stormont back up and running.

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Before Mr Biden's address in Belfast, US Special Envoy Joe Kennedy spoke about the significance of American investment in Northern Ireland.

"Some of the biggest companies in the world have set up shop here and now entrepreneurs with dreams to outcompete them are following," he said.

"I look forward to drawing on your energy and your ideas and to making sure that we bring prosperity to all corners of Northern Ireland."

After listening to Mr Biden's speech at the university, Michelle O'Neill, vice-president of Sinn Féin, the largest party at Stormont, said the message was "one of hope and opportunity".

link: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-65208880