Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar will visit President Joe Biden at the White House Friday to reaffirm the partnership amid the 25th anniversary of the Belfast accords. Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI |
License PhotoMarch 17 (UPI) — President Joe Biden will host Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at the White House Friday for a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meeting that was intended to reaffirm the partnership between the longtime allies.
The leaders mainly plan to discuss their cooperation to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, as well as a range of pressing global issues ahead of Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland next month to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, according to a statement from the White House.
The 1998 settlement established peace in neighboring Northern Ireland after several decades of political violence left at least 3,500 people dead.
The United States played a pivotal role in brokering the ceasefire, with then-President Bill Clinton appointing Senator George Mitchell to lead negotiations between the British and Irish governments, which led to para-military groups laying down their weapons and the establishment of peaceful democracy in Northern Ireland.
Biden and the 43-year-old Varadkar are also expected to hail last month’s agreement between the British government and the European Union known as the the Windsor Framework, which would help preserve the stability established by the Belfast accords.
Signed by Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London on Feb. 27, the framework removes a major Brexit stumbling block that has poisoned relations with the European Union and left Northern Ireland effectively without a government for the past 10 months.
The White House meeting also comes on the heels of a major agreement between the U.S., Australia and Britain to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines that would serve to counter aggression by Chinese naval forces in the Pacific.
During a Monday meeting in San Diego to launch the military strategy, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak noted the Good Friday agreement was “something that’s very special and personal” to Biden, whose Irish roots can be traced back to County Mayo and Country Louth in the Republic of Ireland.
Varadkar was elected as Taoiseach, or the prime minister of the Irish government, for a second time in December, gaining power as part of a coalition arrangement. He previously served as Taoiseach and the country’s minister of defense between 2017 and 2020.
Also Friday, Biden will attend the Friends of Ireland Caucus St. Patrick’s Day luncheon in Washington, the White House said. Later in the day, Biden will host Varadkar a second time for a Shamrock presentation and reception at the White House that will also be attended by Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff.
In the evening, the president plans to travel to his home in Wilmington, Del., to spend the weekend.
