President Biden: "dividends of peace all around us"
Leader delivers address at the University of Ulster campus in Belfast
Last updated 12th Apr 2023
US President Joe Biden said the "dividends of peace are all around us", as he addressed a gathering at the Ulster University campus in Belfast.
"This very campus is situated at an intersection where conflict and bloodshed once held a terrible sway," he said.
"The idea to have a glass building here when I was here in '91 was highly unlikely.
"Where barbed wire once sliced up the city, today we find a cathedral of learning built of glass and let the light shine in and out.
"This has a profound impact for someone who has come back to see it.
"Its an incredible testament to the power and the possibilities of peace."
The President called for the restoration of powersharing at Stormont.
He said: "I believe the democratic institution established in the Good Friday Agreement remain critical to the future of Northern Ireland.
"It's a decision for you to make, not for me to make."
But he said "an effective, devolved government that reflects the people of Northern Ireland and is accountable to them, a government that works to find ways through hard problems together" would help draw "even greater opportunity" to the region.
"I hope the assembly and the executive will soon be restored," he said.
"That's a judgment for you to make, not me.
"I hope it happens, along with the institutions that help facilitate north-south and east-west relations, all of which are vital pieces of the Good Friday Agreement."
And he told the guests that the response of Northern Ireland's political leaders to the shooting of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell in Omagh showed "the enemies of peace will not prevail".
"Northern Ireland will not go back, pray God," he said.
"The attack was a hard reminder there will always be those who seek to destroy, rather than rebuild.
"But the lesson of the Good Friday Agreement is this: at times when things seem fragile or easily broken, that is when hope and hard work are needed the most."
After his speech the President caught up with Belfast actor James Martin (see below)