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The US president, who is of Irish descent, timed the visit to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Joe Biden has arrived in Belfast for a four-day visit which he said he will use to "keep the peace" on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. The US president invoked the importance of the peace treaty and the recently negotiated Windsor Framework, which changes Northern Ireland's trade rules after Brexit.
Speaking to reporters before leaving, Biden said his top priority was "making sure the Ireland Accords and the Windsor Accord stay in place, keeping the peace."
Air Force One landed at RAF Aldergrove in County Antrim at around 9:20pm on Tuesday.
The US president will be greeted by Rishi Sunak upon arrival and the couple will hold a bilateral meeting on Wednesday, although reports suggest the White House has pushed for the summit to be reduced to a coffee break.
Biden will also take advantage of the visit to reconnect with his family in Co Louth and Mayo, as well as attend various engagements in Dublin.
Wednesday:
– The President will hold bilateral talks with Mr Sunak in Belfast in the morning.
- Biden is also expected to hold talks with the main political parties in Northern Ireland. The Power Sharing Assembly established by the Good Friday Agreement is currently not working due to a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) protest against post-Brexit trade deals.
- As part of his major engagement in Northern Ireland, Mr Biden will deliver a keynote address at the University of Ulster's new £350 million Belfast campus. The president tweeted that he would take the opportunity to underscore his country's "commitment to preserving peace and fostering prosperity" in the region.
– Mr. Biden will then cross the border. He will travel to Co Louth where he has ancestral roots. His great-grandfather Owen Finnegan left the county for the United States in the 1840s. While visiting the county, he would visit Carlingford Castle.
– Mr. Biden will spend the night in Dublin.
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said it was a "big goal" for the Northern Ireland Assembly to not function for US President Joe Biden's visit.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, the former Irish prime minister and Fianna Fail leader was asked if he was disappointed with the length of Mr Biden's visit and the fact that the US president did not speak in Stormont.
The Northern Ireland executive has not sat down since the power-sharing deal between the main parties broke down after last year's election.
Mr Ahern said: 'I am very disappointed in this. I mean, the general idea when this visit was mentioned last year was that we would try to resolve the problems between the European Union and the United Kingdom.
"So we didn't make much progress on that until October and then Rishi Sunak came along. So it's extremely unfortunate and a huge disappointment that the president of the free world, the United States, doesn't come." the assembly, did not hide this fact well, it is a great target against my camp in my opinion.
Rishi Sunak will personally present a six-year-old boy awaiting a heart transplant with an award recognizing his "outstanding" contribution to his community.
The presentation to Daithi Mac Gabhann is one of the Prime Minister's commitments that coincides with US President Joe Biden's visit to Northern Ireland.
A new organ donation law for Northern Ireland is named after the Belfast boy in recognition of his and his family's campaign to change the law.
Mr. Sunak will meet Daithi and his family as part of the Prime Minister's Daily Light Points award.
The White House has said there will be no formal group meeting between US President Joe Biden and Northern Ireland's five main political parties.
He will have the chance to speak to party leaders before a speech at Ulster University on Wednesday.
Joe Biden will meet the leaders of Northern Ireland's political parties in Belfast on Wednesday ahead of a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Deal (writes Adam Forrest).
A senior ally of President Biden has said the US administration will 'goad' and 'goad' the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to end their protest against post-Brexit trade deals and resume engagement in the institutions of power sharing in Stormont.
Dozens of police and Secret Service vehicles arrived in Belfast in a major security operation ahead of the visit.
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A major security operation is underway in Belfast as police recover pipe bombs in Derry.
Other photographs were taken from the first moments of the US president's trip to Northern Ireland.
Biden with Sunak at RAF Aldergrove
sunak and his team
Biden disembarks from Air Force One
In addition to reaffirming his attachment to the Good Friday agreement, Joe Biden will take advantage of his trip to Northern Ireland to rediscover his roots.
The president often speaks with pride of his Irish heritage and has traced his ancestry to County Louth in the Republic of Ireland, where he will travel tomorrow to visit the site of family graves.
His son Hunter Biden and sister Valerie Biden Owen are believed to be accompanying him on the trip.
Biden had previously visited Ireland in June 2016 as Barack Obama's vice president.
Joe Biden left RAF Aldergrove airfield in an armored car after meeting Rishi Sunak.
UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris was also present as Biden stepped off the plane with US Special Envoy for Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy.
The US president will make several other commitments throughout the week to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which largely ended the riots in Northern Ireland in 1998.
Biden is driven away in an armored vehicle
US President Joe Biden landed in Belfast as part of a historic four-day trip to the island of Ireland (writes Cillian Sherlock).
He was greeted by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after Air Force One landed at RAF Aldergrove on Tuesday night.
The two leaders met briefly before the president drove off in an armored vehicle in a light snowfall.
Joe Biden landed in Northern Ireland a few minutes ago. The President of the United States was filmed walking down the steps of Air Force One before meeting with Rishi Sunak.
Reuters
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