Biden Leaves For UK

President Joe Biden has left for a four-day tour of the United Kingdom Tuesday morning.

Biden is scheduled to land at Belfast, Northern Ireland, at 4:20 ET, where he will be greeted upon arrival at the airport by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The two leaders had met last month in San Diego at the AUKUS announcement.

They will again meet for a bilateral meeting on Wednesday.

Biden will then head to Ulster University to deliver remarks marking the progress made since the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago. “He’ll underscore the readiness of the United States to preserve those gains and support Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities,” National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters ahead of Biden’s departure.

The signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in 1998 ended decades of violence and brought peace and stability to Northern Ireland.

Following his speech at Ulster University, the President will travel to Ireland on Wednesday afternoon. He will visit County Louth, where his great grandfather James Finnegan was born and the Finnegan family lived before they crossed the sea to begin a new life in America. And he will tour Carlingford Castle.

On Wednesday night, the President will spend the night in Dublin.

On Thursday, he will meet with Northern Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins and participate in a tree planting ceremony and ringing of the Peace Bell. Following that ceremony, he will meet with the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, whom the President hosted for St. Patrick’s Day. In both meetings, the President will discuss the close cooperation on the full range of shared global challenges.

He will then address a joint session of Irish parliament about U.S.-Irish cooperation to advance democracy, peace, security, and prosperity, as well as the shared deep history between the United States and Ireland.

Today, 1 in 10 Americans claim Irish ancestry, and Ireland is a key economic partner of the United States.

On Thursday night, President Biden will attend a banquet dinner at Dublin Castle.

On Friday, the President will travel to County Mayo, where he will tour the sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock and visit the North Mayo Heritage and Genealogical Center’s Family History Research Unit.

He will then deliver remarks at St. Muredach’s Cathedral.

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