Hillary Clinton has offered to work with the American Ireland Fund to support peace in Northern Ireland, once she steps down as US secretary of state.
She made the remarks, which have been seen as a clear affirmation of her continuing commitment to the North, when she visited Belfast last Friday. In a speech to attendees at the Ireland Fund luncheon, held at Titanic Belfast, she said: “So my offer to you is, as I leave this current position and become a private citizen again, I want to continue working with you,” she said.
“I want to support you in what you are doing. And I hope that we’ll have a chance to really come to grips with some of the serious remaining problems that are still plaguing the fulfilment of our aspirations for the people of Northern Ireland.”
Mrs Clinton said that peace was always a work in progress: “we have to do more to get out of the ballrooms, out of Stormont, into the communities where people live, where there yet is not that sense of lasting hope and optimism.”
She asked: “How can we better make an impact on those who are either indifferent or negative toward what has been achieved?”
Mrs Clinton said that she was “very serious” about her offer to stay engaged. “I want to remain involved as a friend, an advocate, and a cheerleader for what you have already achieved,” she said.