US President Joe Biden will begin a four-day trip to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in Belfast on 11 April, the White House has confirmed.
President Biden will begin his trip in Belfast to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
He will also hold various engagements, including in Dublin, County Louth, and County Mayo.
The President is also expected to meet Irish President Michael D Higgins.
In a statement, the White House said the President will travel to the United Kingdom and Ireland from 11-14 April adding that the trip would mark “the tremendous progress since the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago”.
Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported the official visit may include government receptions for President Biden at Farmleigh House and Dublin Castle.
It is also believed the US president will attend the Irish presidential residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, to meet President Michael D Higgins.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said it was expected that President Biden would address the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) on Thursday.
He will become the fourth US president to address the Oireachtas, following President John F Kennedy on 28 June 1963, President Ronald Reagan on 4 June 1984 and President Bill Clinton on 1 December 1995.
It has also been confirmed that President Biden will be in County Mayo on Friday, where he will speak at an event outside St Muredach’s Cathedral, Ballina.
‘Celebrating significant milestone’
Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar said he was “delighted” that President Biden would be visiting Ireland.
“When we spoke recently in the White House, President Biden was clear that in celebrating the Good Friday Agreement, we should be looking ahead, not backwards,” he said.
He said the involvement of the United States and of President Biden personally had been “essential to the peace process in Ireland”.
“From its earliest uncertain beginnings to the making of the Good Friday Agreement, in good days and bad, the US has always been at our side,” said Mr Varadkar.
“So it’s fitting that President Biden will be here to mark this significant milestone with us.”
