Officials in London are preparing to welcome US President Joe Biden to the UK for a State Visit next year.
And while a visit to Northern Ireland has not been explicitly proposed, a tour of the UK to celebrate 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement would be bizarre if the Irish American President didn't visit the city, people and region which made the peace process.
The trip could also be the first time King Charles III welcomes a fellow Head of State to the UK for an official visit.
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No date has been set but the trip is pencilled in to coincide with the anniversary of the peace pact that ended 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.
A senior diplomatic source said: “If you look at the calendar you will conclude that next year might be an obvious reason to visit Europe, if things come good.”
A Whitehall official said the 25th anniversary was “a key pivot moment”.
Whether the trip is technically a “State Visit” will depend on the date of King Charles’ Coronation - he can only host a State Visit once he has been officially crowned, which could take months.
Meanwhile, in opening remarks at the start of their UN meeting in New York today, President Biden told Prime Minister Liz Truss he looks forward to hearing what she has to say about the Northern Ireland peace process post-Brexit.
The US president has kept a keen eye on developments in Northern Ireland and said: “We are both committed to protecting the Good Friday Agreement of Northern Ireland, and I’m looking forward to hearing what’s on your mind.”
Ms Truss told the President she will discuss how she will uphold the Good Friday Agreement as she seeks to address concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Prime Minister told the President: “Of course I’m looking forward to discussing the Belfast Good Friday Agreement and how we make sure that’s upheld into the future.”
Questions, including on the protocol, were shouted to the pair by reporters as they were ushered out of the room but both leaders remained silent, Mr Biden with a straight face and Ms Truss smiling.
One of Mr Biden’s predecessors as a Democratic President, Bill Clinton, visited Belfast in 1995 where he was mobbed by fans.
He stayed at the Europa Hotel which, during the Troubles, was known as the “most bombed hotel in Europe”. It was bombed 36 times during the conflict.
In 2013, Barack Obama and his family visited Northern Ireland as part of the G8 summit. The president addressed an audience at the Waterfront Hall before heading to Co Fermanagh for the talks with global leaders.
Mr Biden has repeatedly highlighted his Irish roots, which stretch from the Cooley peninsula on the east coast of Ireland to the town of Ballina in the west.
The trip could bolster his re-election campaign if he chooses to run again for the White House.
Images of the President being welcomed to the UK by the King would be beamed around the US, boosting his image among American viewers.
The last State Visit by a US President came over three days in June 2019 when Donald Trump and First Lady Melania landed on UK soil.
Mr Trump sparked fury by posing for a photograph at Blenheim Palace in an armchair used by heroic wartime leader Winston Churchill. He also broke royal and diplomatic protocol by walking in front of the Queen as they inspected troops from the Coldstream Guards at Windsor Castle.
The plan for a State Visit by Mr Biden piles pressure on the Government and EU to thrash out a solution to the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol, which prevents a hard border with the Republic - the UK’s only land boundary with the bloc.
It effectively sets a six-month deadline to reach a compromise on the Protocol, which would then revive the Stormont Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly.
Unionists say the controversial arrangement has effectively drawn a frontier down the Irish Sea, hampering trade in goods between mainland Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Border posts and Army watch towers were stripped away following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The deal was signed at Stormont over Easter 1998 after marathon tense negotiations hosted by then Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The Labour leader was building on years of fragile diplomacy forged by his No10 predecessor John Major. Sources revealed Mr Blair is still playing a key role behind the scenes, trying to explain to EU and US officials why the Protocol is such an issue.
The diplomatic source said: “Tony Blair has certainly been explaining to the Europeans and the Americans that the British Government have a real point on the trading aspects of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
“He has been explaining - in a way that only he can, given his role in the Good Friday Agreement - why there’s no danger, why it’s not about the Good Friday Agreement, it’s about communities.
“He certainly has been a helpful voice, and I think he will go on doing so.”
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