The Irish Times view on the appointment of a new US envoy to Northern Ireland

The White House’s appointment of former US congressman Joe Kennedy III, a member of one of the most famous American political families, as US special envoy to Northern Ireland shows the Biden administration’s continued interest and commitment to the peace process.

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement, it should not be forgotten how proud the American political establishment, both Democratic and Republican, is of the agreement and how American lawmakers view the peace process as a signature US foreign policy achievement of the 1990s.

President Joe Biden’s decision to install Kennedy, a high-profile figure in the political firmament, is proof that the US president has not forgotten this in the run-up to next year’s anniversary. As he will serve as an envoy for economic affairs, he will not be directly involved in helping to break the political stalemate over the Northern Ireland protocol, the agreement for post-Brexit trading rules that has angered unionists. But reminding parties in the North of the unique benefits of having access to both the EU and UK single markets for goods and the potential interest of US investors may be an attractive carrot to dangle in efforts to end the political logjam.

There has been important and constructive US deal-brokering and peacemaking on Northern Ireland over the past 30 years, ever since former president Bill Clinton appointed the first US special envoy, former US senator George Mitchell, to help negotiate the 1998 agreement.

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While unionists are rarely comfortable with Irish-American envoys, they must acknowledge the important role Kennedy will play in relaying messages back to Washington and how Biden’s support will be critical for the UK if there is to be a post-Brexit trade deal with the US.

Most importantly, Kennedy will have Biden’s ear. Their relationship and Kennedy’s appointment show that Northern Ireland is still very much an important item on the US foreign policy agenda of this very Irish-American president.