25-th Anniversary of the Belfast Agreement: Prospects for Northern Ireland

Abstract

On April 11-15, 2023, US President Joe Biden visited Northern Ireland and the neighboring Republic of Ireland, timing the visit to the 25th anniversary of singing the Belfast Agreement in 1998, which ended the bloody confrontation between Catholics and Protestants in Ulster and contributed to the creation of autonomous authorities in the region. The purpose of the trip was complex – to overcome the protracted political crisis in Northern Ireland and promise to increase US investment in the regional economy should the regional government resume its work; the personal goal of the US president is to increase support from the Irish-American lobby, which is influential in the Democratic Party. London's hopes for a free trade agreement with the United States did not materialize. Keeping peace in Ulster remains an important issue – in 2023, the Catholic Republican paramilitary group (New IRA) said it would fight British power in the region. The political crisis in Ulster has not been overcome.