Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is attending a reception in Belfast this afternoon as part of events to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
She's meeting current and past participants of the Washington Ireland Programme, which brings together university students from both sides of the border for a six-month leadership programme in the United States.
More than 800 people have taken part in the programme since it was launched in 1995, including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in 2000.
A number of those who took part during the 25 years of the Agreement were invited to attend the reception at the WIP offices in Belfast city centre.
"The contribution that Secretary Clinton has made to Northern Ireland is immeasurable, not only for a significant length of time before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, but in the important early years post accord," said Nicola Skelly, WIP Executive Director.
"She has been a huge supporter of the Washington Ireland Programme for over 20 years, and we are honoured to welcome her to Belfast for such a special week."
In response to a question from a member of the audience, Hillary Clinton said she believes the Windsor Framework deal between the UK and EU, to end the dispute over the Northern Ireland post-Brexit Protocol, offers a huge economic incentive for Stormont's politicians to get power sharing back up and running.
"This is an opportunity unlike any for economic development, growth, investment [and] business expansion, because Northern Ireland now has a unique and privileged position, privileged access to the UK market and to the free trade agreements that the UK already has, and privileged access to the EU," she said.
"Think of it like Singapore, I mean, think of it like a place that is so incredibly well positioned to attract investment and business now that nobody in the world can compete with, so I am a huge fan of the Windsor agreement."
She added: "If you don't want to stand up the government for political reasons, stand it up for economic ones because the economy could take off unlike anything you've seen."
Those in the audience included Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and US Congressman Richie Neal.
Ms Clinton first visited Northern Ireland as First Lady when her husband Bill Clinton became the first ever serving US President to visit in 1995.
The couple made two further visits during his time in the White House and Ms Clinton also made a number of solo trips, including during her time as US Secretary of State.
In September 2021, she became the first female chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast.
The Clintons are both in Belfast to take part in a 3-day conference at the university to mark the anniversary of the Agreement and are both due to speak at events tomorrow.
This afternoon talks chairman, former US Senator George Mitchell, received a standing ovation when he arrived at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast to watch a play about the final days of the negotiations.
