Read the US President's speech in full here
"What a great – please have a seat – great honour to be here. I just told Gabrielle that when she’s the leading public figure in this country, and I show up I promise she won’t say Joe who? is outside. Say Joe Biden, remember just remember me OK?
"And Ambassador Hartley, thank you for outstanding work leading our mission to the UK. Ambassador Hartley is is an old friend and the former ambassador from Great Britain to the United States. "And I found out, my sister and I found out, the name Robinette, Robinette, my middle name’s Robinette. I thought that all these years it was French. It must have been Huguenots because they came to Great Britain in the 1700s somewhere along the way, and they’re all from Nottingham. So I don’t know what the hell’s going on here. Can you come back? It’s confusing. Anyway.
"It just has a profound impact for someone who has come back to see it. You know it’s incredible testament of the power and the possibilities of peace. "And it took people across, all across Northern Ireland who made the choice to work for a brighter and a shared future. At the time, it seemed so distant some of it, it seemed so distant.
"And, you know, his time serving as special envoy for Northern Ireland was one of the great examples in history of the right person for the right job at the right time, in my view. "I want all of you to know especially the young people in the audience today. And don’t jump OK. Oh do you see all the way up there. As my father would say “please excuse my back”, I apologise.
"It has been a key focus for me throughout my career. I remember working as a senator to see how the United States was supporting and encourage, bit by bit, any move toward peace. I got elected in 1972 as a 29 year old kid to the United States Senate. And it was just the start of it. "Men born in Ulster are among those who signed the Declaration of Independence in the United States pledging their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honour for freedom’s cause.
"And I predict to you that if things continue to move in the right direction it will more than triple."Many have already made homes in Northern Ireland employing over 30,000 people. And in just the past decade American business has generated almost two billion dollars in investment in the region. Two billion dollars.
"We all know there is more we can do together. You know there’s so much energy and dynamism especially among young people who are starting their own businesses, blazing their own trails, connecting to the global community of entrepreneurs. "If it can be done here, it can be done in my community. Not a joke. The world is changing. It’s changing drastically and it presents enormous opportunity but also significant dangers.
"Now the negotiators listened to business leaders across the UK and Ireland who shared what they needed to succeed. "When I went to college, I was a political science major and history major and we were taught every generation has to fight to preserve democracy. I didn’t believe it at the time. I just thought it was automatic. We had this great democracy, what would we need to do?
"For in politics, no matter what divides us, if we look hard enough there are always areas that are going to bring us together, if we look hard enough."So I want to once more recognise the way the leaders of Northern Ireland’s major political parties come together in the wake of the attempted murder of Detective Chief Inspector Caldwell to show the enemies of peace will not prevail. Northern Ireland will not go back, pray God.
"His whole life has unfolded under the wing of peace, which means at not quite 25 years of age, he’s been able to build an expertise in branding and marketing that he’s used to help grow local businesses, support startups, consult for charities.
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