US president Joe Biden will arrive in Ireland after Easter for a five day visit.
The president is scheduled to travel to Belfast and Dublin as part of his itinerary. The full details of Mr Biden’s itinerary has not yet been confirmed.
However, it is expected that he will be based in Dublin after his visit to Belfast on April 11th and 12th.
From Dublin he may make visits to Co Mayo and Co Louth where he has family connections.
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The president, who is extremely proud of his Irish heritage, has made no secret of his desire to visit Ireland during his period in the White House.
During the St Patrick’s day visit of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to the White House in Washington, Mr Biden said he would travel to Ireland “soon”. He said he was looking forward to the trip.
The Taoiseach told the president he would receive a very warm welcome on his visit to Ireland.
“I promise you that we’re going to roll out the red carpet, and it’s going to be a visit like no other. Everyone is excited about it already. We’re going to have great crowds who would love to see you”, Mr Varadkar said.
The planned visit by Mr Biden is timed to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland.
Mr Biden is a firm supporter of the accord and strongly urged both the Government of the United Kingdom and the EU to reach a deal over the Northern Ireland protocol.
Earlier this year he appointed Joseph Kennedy as the new US special envoy to Northern Ireland for economic affairs.
Mr Biden strongly backed the recent Windsor framework aimed at resolving disputes over the situation in Northern Ireland following Brexit.
“Northern Ireland can accomplish the extraordinary when its leaders work together in common cause. And I hope – as we all do – that Northern Ireland’s political institutions are soon back up and running. Those institutions embody the principle of devolved, power-sharing, representative government at the core of the Good Friday agreement”, the president said in late February.
He said he was confident that “the people and businesses of Northern Ireland will be able to take full advantage of the economic opportunities created by this stability and certainty”.
Mr Biden said United States stood ready “to support the region’s vast economic potential”.