United States – US President Joe Biden invites Irish PM Leo Varadkar to the White House on Fri, 17 March, on the eve of the annual St. Patrick’s Day reception. This is at a time when a fragment of the usual Irish delegates boycotts the gathering in protest of Biden’s war in Gaza.
Varadkar’s Agenda
During a speech in Boston on Tuesday, Varadkar said he would use the opportunity to tell Biden “how Irish people feel, and that is that we want to see a ceasefire immediately, for the killing to stop, the hostages to be released without condition, food, and medicine to get into Gaza.”
Ireland has constantly been among the key opponents from Western Europe of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians, and it is also known as the country that has a traditional policy of military neutrality, as reported by Reuters.
The SDLP, Northern Ireland’s second nationalist party, said none of their representatives planned to go to Washington this week.
Two Mondays ago, Ireland approved over $21 million for the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) after the agency had plunged into a crisis, which resulted in the inclusion of EU members in talks on the basis that Israel may not be respecting the human rights clause embedded in the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
White House Agenda
The White House argued that the two leaders would devise a plan to help Ukraine, work together in the Middle East war, and validate the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.
Biden’s Irish Heritage and Commitment to Peace
Biden, who has an Irish historical background and frequently quotes Irish poets, went to Ireland 15 months ago to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. He expressed his desire to support the peace process.
The Irish trip that lasted for the longest ever and was by a sitting US president is the one that I would like to focus on. During this trip, which started in the domestic hometown of the president and ended up at his ancestral village, he visited his deceased son’s last rites priest. He also had a state function in the national parliament, and lastly, attended a state banquet in Dublin Castle, as reported by Reuters.