Sunak to return to Belfast as Good Friday Agreement commemorations continue

Rishi Sunak has paid tribute to the “courage, imagination and perseverance” of those who built the Good Friday Agreement as he enters a second week of events to mark 25 years of the peace deal.

After meeting Joe Biden during the US president’s brief visit to Northern Ireland last week, the Prime Minister will return to Belfast on Wednesday to give a speech at a major conference and host a gala dinner that will include young volunteers.

A number of events have been taking place in the region to commemorate the 1998 agreement, which largely led to the end of the 30-year Troubles and established the powersharing Assembly at Stormont.

The institutions are currently suspended as part of a protest by the Democratic Unionist Party against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Mr Sunak will meet key architects of the Good Friday Agreement and representatives from Ireland and the US during his visit – his fifth to Northern Ireland since taking office.

Queen’s University’s three-day Agreement 25 conference, starting on Monday, will also feature speeches by Sir Tony Blair and former US senator George Mitchell.

It will be hosted by former US secretary of state and first lady Hillary Clinton, with attendees including Bill Clinton, US president in 1998; and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

Mr Sunak said: “This week we continue to acknowledge the courage, imagination and perseverance of those who built the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. It gives me great pleasure to meet with some of the leading architects of peace and to commemorate those who are no longer with us.

“It is a tribute to the 1998 Agreement that we also see a younger generation of inspirational people across Northern Ireland today – those who volunteer time and effort to actively make their communities stronger.

“So this week I will also pay tribute to young people who have continued to heal the wounds of a dark and difficult past, and those who came before them and set the groundwork for a better future.”

The events in the coming days will focus on the peace, prosperity and economic opportunity the Good Friday Agreement brought to Northern Ireland, Downing Street said.

Last week, Mr Biden delivered a speech at Ulster University in which he expressed hope for a return to powersharing, saying a stable devolved government could deliver an economic windfall for the region.