by Joe Biden said he intends to visit Northern Ireland after being invited to the Good Friday Agreement anniversary.
The US President spoke after Rishi Sunak formally invited him to make the 25th anniversary trip in April when the couple held talks in San Diego.
When the two met at Point Loma Naval Base, Mr Biden said: “It is my intention to go to Northern Ireland and the Republic.”
Mr Sunak told the President: “I look forward to our talks and, more importantly, to inviting you to Northern Ireland, which I hope you can do so that we can mark the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
“I know it’s very special and personal to you. We would be delighted to welcome you.”
Mr Biden said: “Twenty-five years? It feels like yesterday.”
The US President joked about Mr. Sunak’s home in Santa Monica when the two met after Aukus announced the submarine pact.
“First of all I would like to welcome you back to California. He’s a Stanford guy and he still has a home here in California,” he said.
“That’s why I’m very nice to you, maybe you can invite me to your place in California. But joking aside, I think it’s a historic day for our countries.”
Ahead of their talks, Mr Sunak dashed any hopes that he could get the President to resume negotiations on a post-Brexit free trade deal with the US.
The prime minister insisted transatlantic trade was “growing massively anyway” as he hailed pacts with individual nations ahead of his meeting with the US president in San Diego on Monday.
A free trade deal with the world’s largest economy has been touted as one of the prizes for leaving the European Union, but negotiations have stalled.
Mr Sunak insisted his new Windsor Pact with the EU was a “major step forward” for Northern Ireland after hoping it could ease tensions with Democrats in the US and pave the way for trade talks.
But the prime minister downplayed the focus on a free trade deal with the US, telling GB News: “America is and always has been our closest economic relationship, it’s our biggest trading partner.”
Asked if the trade deal was off the table, Mr Sunak said: “It’s just that people should actually know that our relationship with America is very strong economically, our exports are growing massively anyway and we are making deals with states. “
