US President Joe Biden is briefly in Northern Ireland to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. But he finds a dysfunctional parliament and a leader who welcomed him missing.

It was Biden’s express visit to Northern Ireland to mark 25 years of peace. “He will stay longer if the peace agreement is 100 percent successful,” said Britain’s Lia van Bekhoven. “However, one part of the agreement, which stated that Ireland should govern itself, did not work.”

After all, Northern Ireland’s parliament had been closed for a year, so MPs couldn’t be present during his visit. “This has put Biden in a situation where nobody can really welcome him,” said van Bekhoven, “because there is no functioning government and there is no head of government in Belfast. As a result, he had to settle for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.’

Invest when there is government again

During his visit, Biden encouraged cooperation while meeting with five Northern Ireland party leaders. “They have been discussing how to get Northern Ireland’s parliament functioning again. Biden also said that US companies will invest in Northern Ireland when the board returns.

Read also | ‘Irish people think primarily of their own wallet’

From Belfast, Biden flew to the Republic of Ireland. ‘It’s mainly a family visit. Ireland is important to Americans. There are 30 million Americans who identify as Irish.” Joe Biden is the most Irish of America’s presidents, according to van Bekhoven. “He even brought along his son and sister for this visit.”