President Biden says economic growth in Northern Ireland is ‘just beginning’
- On his first presidential visit to the province, Biden stressed that American investment will continue to help fuel its economic growth
- He noted that Northern Ireland’s total economic output had doubled in the 25 years since the Good Friday peace deal was signed
President Joe Biden expressed hope on Wednesday that Northern Ireland will “not go back” to an era of deadly violence that was capped 25 years ago by a US-brokered peace deal, nudging the politicians here to resolve a political crisis that has left this United Kingdom member without a functioning government.
“It’s up to us to keep this going,” Biden said of the economic growth and prosperity Northern Ireland has experienced since the Good Friday Agreement was signed.
He spoke at Ulster University’s new campus in Belfast, and noted that the vast amount of glass used in its construction was a sign of that progress and likely wouldn’t have been possible during the sectarian violence known as “the Troubles”, in which some 3,600 people were killed in bombings and other attacks.
On his first presidential visit to Northern Ireland, Biden stressed that American investment will continue to help fuel its economic growth, especially if Belfast’s fractious politicians resolve a stalemate that has put their government on pause.
“The simple truth is that peace and economic opportunity go together”, Biden said, noting that Northern Ireland’s total economic output had doubled in the quarter-century since the Good Friday peace deal was signed in April 1998. He predicted that gross domestic product would more than triple “if things continue to move in the right direction”, and he said that a bright future is “just beginning”.
“Your history is our history”, the president said. “And even more important, your future is America’s future”.