President-elect Joe Biden
The proposal was made by SDLP Councillor and chair of council’s Business & Culture committee, Rory Farrell.
Addressing the committee, Councillor Farrell said: “I don’t think anybody will have missed the news that America is going to have a new president come January, although one person in particular hasn’t really accepted that yet.
“I think our council should write to the President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris to congratulate them on their victory and to invite them to this council area if they ever choose to visit the island of Ireland.
“Joe Biden in particular has well-documented Irish roots.
“He’s been a great friend to Ireland over the years and he’s been a steadfast supporter of the Good Friday Agreement over the years, and more recently in the context of Brexit.
“He said that there will be no US-UK trade deal if the Tory government messes around with Brexit, messes around the Good Friday Agreement, messes around with the Withdrawal Agreement or the Ireland Protocol.
“So, I think it’s important that we send out that message that we support the new president and that we invite him to our council area. We would hope that he takes us up on that offer.”
Councillor Farrell added: “And I am mindful of the amount of American businesses in our council area.
“We’ve got the All States, the Seagates, the Invistas that have come here, set up operations, and created wealth and opportunity for people across this council area.
“It is important to promote our city and region on a global scale – so, I think this is something right and proper that we should do.”
The proposal was supported by all councillors, with the exception of DUP members who abstained on the vote.
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