President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for Northern Ireland’s political leaders to end a standoff that has brought the region’s devolved government to a halt.

“I hope the assembly and the executive will soon be restored,” Biden said on Wednesday (Apr 12) during a speech in Belfast. “That’s a judgment for you to make, not me, but I hope it happens.” Sunak’s office said the pair both expressed hope that the assembly will be restored as soon as possible in their meeting on Wednesday.

There’s been no functioning government at Stormont since February 2022, when the Democratic Unionist Party boycotted the administration in protest of post-Brexit trading arrangements for the region. That means that key decisions on matters such as budgets are on hold, frustrating those who want to see measures to deal with issues like health care and the cost-of-living crisis.

Biden met privately with the leaders of Northern Ireland’s five main political parties ahead of his speech at Ulster University on Wednesday. 

The five leaders then attended his speech, sitting side-by-side as Biden called for a breakthrough. The leaders of the two parties who’d ultimately participate in a power-sharing agreement, the DUP and Sinn Fein, sat next to one another.

“As a friend, I hope it’s not too presumptuous for me to say that I believe democratic institutions established in the Good Friday Agreement remain critical to the future of Northern Ireland,” Biden said.

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DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said he welcomed Biden’s visit, describing his remarks as “measured” in an interview with reporters following the speech. He said Biden’s mention of his British ancestry “indicates, hopefully, that we have a President that recognises the UK as a close ally and friend of the US.”

Still, Donaldson said Biden’s call to end the political standoff “doesn’t change the political dynamics in Northern Ireland” and said Sunak’s government “needs to go further in terms of protecting Northern Ireland’s place within the UK and our ability to trade within the UK internal market.” 

Jane Hartley, the US ambassador to the UK, spoke before Biden and praised the history of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which largely brought about an end to decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. 

“The task now is for all parties to walk a few more brave steps and, here in Northern Ireland, for all parties to participate in government once again,” Hartley said. “We all want the next 25 years to be about prosperity, just as the last 25 were about peace.”

Devolved power-sharing institutions for Northern Ireland were a key part of the Good Friday Agreement, which established them to prevent either unionists or nationalists from holding absolute power. Under the terms, the two largest parties – effectively one from each community – nominate candidates for First Minister and Deputy First Minister. The positions are equal and one cannot be in place without the other. 

Amanda Sloat, the White House National Security Council’s Senior Director for Europe, told reporters earlier in the day that Biden wants to see the impasse end but that the focus of the trip was on celebrating the Good Friday Agreement. 

“Obviously, the president – like I think everybody in Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister, the Taoiseach (prime minister of Ireland) and the rest – would like to see the devolved institutions back up and running,” Sloat said. 

After topping the polls in May 2022, nationalist party Sinn Fein nominated Michelle O’Neill as First Minister, but the second-placed Democratic Unionist Party have refused to follow suit until their concerns about the Northern Irish Protocol – the part of the Brexit treaty that deals with the region – are resolved.

The DUP still refuses to participate in the power-sharing assembly and voted against the recently passed Windsor Framework, which sought to ease tensions over trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Biden also used his speech to hail Northern Ireland’s economic opportunity, saying “there are scores of major American corporations wanting to come here, wanting to invest.” Joe Kennedy, US Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, will lead a US trade delegation to the region later this year, Biden said.

After his Belfast speech, Biden departed for the Republic of Ireland, where he’ll stay through Friday for a series of events with Irish political leaders, and personal ones tracing his family history across Ireland. BLOOMBERG