Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that Ireland is looking forward to “rolling out the red carpet” as US President Joe Biden “comes home” next month.
As previously reported by the Irish Mirror, Mr Biden will travel to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland next month to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
He confirmed the news on Monday evening at an event with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in California.
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Speaking in Washington DC on Wednesday morning on the first day of his three-day trip to the States for St Patrick’s, Mr Varadkar said that he was looking forward to Mr Birden’s trip and their meeting on Friday.
He said: “In many ways, President Biden is coming home. He speaks of himself as being an Irish person, an Irish-American.
“We’re going to roll out the red carpet and we’re going to be making sure he feels very welcome.
“We particularly want to thank him, and thank America, for the pivotal role they’ve played both in helping to build our economy and also helping to build the peace in Ireland.”
Mr Varadkar also denied that it was odd that Mr Biden had accepted the visit from Mr Sunak, saying that there had been a “long-standing invitation” to visit Ireland.
Former US President Bill Clinton and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also accompany the President on his trip.
The Taoiseach said that he is looking forward to meeting with Mr Biden in the White House on Friday at the traditional Shamrock Ceremony and discussing the visit. He also said that he wants to “thank him for the role he's played in helping us in relation to Brexit and coming to agreements on that” as well as his “leadership when it comes to Ukraine”.
Mr Varadkar will attend a number of events with Irish business people throughout Wednesday, before attending a medal ceremony for Science Ireland Foundation.
He will then give an address at the US Chamber of Commerce.
The biggest event of Wednesday will be the plush black tie $1,000 a plate Ireland Funds National Gala dinner in the evening.
Mr Varadkar said that he was “very pleased” to be in the States to “renew a long-standing tradition” of the Taoiseach travelling to the US for St Patrick’s Day.
“Because of St Patrick's Day and our long-standing links to the United States, we have access to US key decision makers at all the highest levels,” he said.
“The first day is very much focused on the economic relationship between Ireland and the US.
“As you know, it's very much a two-way street now [with] nearly 300,000 people in Ireland working in companies that are US based.
“Ireland is now the ninth biggest investor in the US and that's not bad for a country of only 5 million people. So [it is] very much a two way relationship and that is what we want to build in the years ahead.”
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