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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Rishi Sunak to mark Good Friday Agreement with praise for young people | Rishi Sunak to mark Good Friday Agreement with praise for young people |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will pay tribute to the contribution young people have made to peace when he returns to Northern Ireland this week. | Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will pay tribute to the contribution young people have made to peace when he returns to Northern Ireland this week. |
| He will take part in events to mark 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement. | He will take part in events to mark 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement. |
| Among those events will be a gala dinner to honour those who signed the 1998 deal and the "remarkable" young people continuing the peace efforts. | Among those events will be a gala dinner to honour those who signed the 1998 deal and the "remarkable" young people continuing the peace efforts. |
| The PM visited Northern Ireland last week when he welcomed US President Joe Biden on his visit Belfast. | The PM visited Northern Ireland last week when he welcomed US President Joe Biden on his visit Belfast. |
| Ahead of his latest trip, Mr Sunak said he was due to meet some of the "leading architects" behind the peace agreement. | Ahead of his latest trip, Mr Sunak said he was due to meet some of the "leading architects" behind the peace agreement. |
| He will acknowledge their "courage, imagination and perseverance" when he gives the closing speech at a Queen's University Belfast conference about the Good Friday Agreement. | He will acknowledge their "courage, imagination and perseverance" when he gives the closing speech at a Queen's University Belfast conference about the Good Friday Agreement. |
| Joe Biden met young people when he opened Ulster University's new Belfast campus last week | Joe Biden met young people when he opened Ulster University's new Belfast campus last week |
| "It is a tribute to the 1998 agreement that we also see a younger generation of inspirational people across Northern Ireland today," said Mr Sunak on Sunday. | "It is a tribute to the 1998 agreement that we also see a younger generation of inspirational people across Northern Ireland today," said Mr Sunak on Sunday. |
| He praised young people who had worked to "heal the wounds of a dark and difficult past" after those before them had set the "groundwork for a better future". | He praised young people who had worked to "heal the wounds of a dark and difficult past" after those before them had set the "groundwork for a better future". |
| His comments come a few days after President Biden used a speech in Belfast to say that young people were at the "cutting edge" of Northern Ireland's future. | His comments come a few days after President Biden used a speech in Belfast to say that young people were at the "cutting edge" of Northern Ireland's future. |
| Read more about the agreement | Read more about the agreement |
| EXPLAINER: What is the agreement? | EXPLAINER: What is the agreement? |
| ANALYSIS: Is it still fit for purpose? | ANALYSIS: Is it still fit for purpose? |
| REFLECTION: The 'bitter' price of peace | REFLECTION: The 'bitter' price of peace |
| Queen's University is hosting a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement featuring speeches and panel discussions from former and current political leaders over three days, beginning on Monday. | |
| Bill and Hillary Clinton have arrived in Belfast ahead of the conference. | |
| Former US Senator George Mitchell, who chaired the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement, is also in the city. | |
| On Sunday afternoon he attended a performance of a play about the 1998 agreement at the Lyric Theatre and received a standing ovation from the audience as he took his seat. | |
| Senator George Mitchell received a standing ovation from theatre-goers in Belfast | |
| Richard Croxford, the actor who plays Mr Mitchell in the play, titled Agreement, said before the performance that he felt "emotional and scared" about having to act in front of the man he was pretending to be. | |
| "He is a phenomenal man, I have not got enough good things to say about him," he said. | |
| Ryan Feeney from Queen's University said the Agreement 25 conference would mark "how far we've come" since the peace deal as well as considering "how we look to the next 25 years". | Ryan Feeney from Queen's University said the Agreement 25 conference would mark "how far we've come" since the peace deal as well as considering "how we look to the next 25 years". |
| Sir Tony Blair, the prime minister who signed the 1998 deal, will also take part in events alongside former Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern. | |
| Sir Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, pictured during an event in 2018 to the agreement's 20th anniversary, will speak at Queen's University Belfast this week | |
| Mr Mitchell will open the Queen's University conference with an address on Monday and was "extremely excited" to do so, said Mr Feeney. | |
| "We're over the moon that our former [university] chancellor and chair of the peace talks is coming here," he added. | "We're over the moon that our former [university] chancellor and chair of the peace talks is coming here," he added. |
| "He was invited by President Biden to come [last week] on Air Force One but declined because he had made this commitment with Queen's." | "He was invited by President Biden to come [last week] on Air Force One but declined because he had made this commitment with Queen's." |
| Also at the performance in the Lyric Theatre were former Irish President Mary McAleese and Monica McWilliams, the co-founder of the Women's Coalition. | |
| Alistair Campbell, who was Mr Blair's official spokesperson in 1998, was also in the audience. | |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| The Troubles | The Troubles |
| Rishi Sunak | Rishi Sunak |
| Queen's University Belfast | Queen's University Belfast |
| Good Friday Agreement | Good Friday Agreement |