Biden to Visit Northern Ireland for Peace Deal Commemoration

President Joe Biden will be visiting Northern Ireland next week to commemorate a historic agreement that brought peace to the region despite UK intelligence warnings about a potential terror threat in the area.

“President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will travel to the United Kingdom and Ireland from April 11-14,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on April 5. Biden will visit Belfast, Northern Ireland, between April 11 and 22 to mark the 25-year anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and to “underscore the readiness of the United States to support Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities.”

GFA was signed on April 10, 1998, and brought to an end the 30 years of violence over the issue of Northern Ireland either remaining in the United Kingdom or uniting with Ireland. The 25th anniversary is being held to mark the peace that has been made possible through all these years.

However, the potential for conflict remains. In March, UK intelligence raised the terror threat level in Northern Ireland to “severe” from “substantial.” Biden, who is of Irish heritage, had last month stated that the terror threat would not affect his travel plans to the country.

After his visit to Northern Ireland, Biden will then travel to Ireland between April 12 and 14 where the president is expected to discuss both the countries’ cooperation “on the full range of shared global challenges.”

“He will also hold various engagements, including in Dublin, County Louth, and County Mayo, where he will deliver an address to celebrate the deep, historic ties that link our countries and people,” Jean-Pierre said.

The GFA anniversary event will also be attended by former President Bill Clinton, whose administration partly brokered the 1998 deal.

Northern Ireland Conflict and GFA Agreement

The conflict in Northern Ireland is driven by religious fault lines. Centuries back, British Protestants subjugated the native Catholic population of Ireland. After Irish independence in the 1920s, the island was split into two sections—the Republic of Ireland, which makes up the majority—and Northern Ireland, which is made up of six counties in the northeast of the island.

Northern Ireland, where British Protestants make up the majority, chose to remain part of the UK. Over decades, the minority Catholic population in Northern Ireland began to feel discontent over alleged unequal access to jobs and housing, which led to a civil rights movement.

Catholics, identifying as pro-Irish, wanted Northern Ireland to reunite with the Republic of Ireland while Protestants opposed leaving the UK.

Authorities began to crack down on the situation and it soon exploded, leading to acts of terrorism. In the three decades of conflict until the 1998 deal, over 3,500 people have died.

The Good Friday Agreement allowed Northern Ireland to establish its own government that required power sharing between the pro-Irish and pro-British parties. Though the intense conflicts from preceding decades have ended, citizens remain divided.

Post-Brexit Troubles

The UK’s exit from the European Union put new stress on the GFA. The Republic of Ireland is a member of the EU. The Brexit deal meant that Northern Ireland became the only part of the UK sharing a land border with an EU nation—its border with the Republic of Ireland. This has triggered trade issues.

Former PM Boris Johnson’s Northern Ireland Protocol proposed requiring customs checks on some goods shipped from other parts of the UK to Northern Ireland.

But the pro-British side from Northern Ireland opposed the move, arguing that the proposal treats the region differently from other parts of the United Kingdom and weakens Northern Ireland’s status as part of the UK.

Brexit also meant that the European Court of Justice would have the power to settle trade disputes in Northern Ireland.

Under PM Rishi Sunak, the UK arrived at a new deal with the EU, scrapping most checks on goods shipped from other parts of the UK to Northern Ireland. Biden has extended support to the new deal.