By Tony O’Reilly-
Rishi Sunak has promised Joe Biden that a deal will be reached with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol by the time of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement next year. The promise is a major progress in the longstanding stale mate over the Northern Ireland dispute
After a meeting between Sunak and Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Downing Street said they “looked forward to working together to take forward cooperation between the UK and the US on areas including trade, defence and upholding the Belfast (Good Friday) agreement”.
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Biden “expressed his desire for a negotiated settlement that protects the Good Friday agreement, which the prime minister agreed with”, his press secretary said. “The prime minister did refer to that anniversary next year and ensuring that we get a negotiated settlement that protects the Good Friday agreement by then.”
Downing Street described the first meeting between Biden and Sunak as “very friendly and warm”.
The historical shoulder to shoulder relationship between the Uk and the U.S have been strained in recent years over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland.
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Several meetings between representatives of both the Uk and Northern Ireland have come to nothing over the years, which will make it significant if Sunak achieves a breakthrough in this matter.
Biden, who is of Irish heritage, has long expressed concerns about the threat to the Northern Ireland peace process posed by the impasse over the protocol.
Last week, the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, extended by six weeks the deadline for Stormont parties to form an executive to 8 December, with the option of a further six-week extension.
The deadline to establish a new executive lapsed on 28 October, at which point the government assumed a legal responsibility to hold a fresh poll within 12 weeks, by 19 January.
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