Stormont First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she raised the demand for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza during her meeting with US President Joe Biden.
Ms O’Neill spoke following Sunday’s St Patrick’s Day engagement at the White House, in which she was joined by deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.
Sinn Féin had faced calls to boycott the White House event over ongoing US support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza, which has so far led to the deaths of over 30,000 people.
Ms O’Neill, Sinn Féin’s vice-president, said the meeting with Mr Biden followed a “very successful week of engagements” in the US.
Speaking of her discussions with the US president, she said: “We discussed our efforts with US investors where we set out our stall and made our pitch on why the North is a great place to invest in order to create jobs.
“The doors have been opened, the goodwill exists and now we want to follow through and secure investment in the coming weeks and months.”
Referring to her party’s vow ahead of the visit to address the Gaza issue, Ms O’Neill said: “I again raised my grave concerns directly with President Biden on the genocide of Palestinian people, and the demand for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza, full provision of humanitarian aid; an end to illegal settlements in the West Bank, and East Jerusalem; and a sovereign Palestinian State.
“Our peace process is an example to the world. We know the cost of conflict and the value of peace. How the United States has been a critical partner for peace in Ireland, and why this same foreign policy approach needs to be applied to Gaza and the middle-east.
“We are absolutely committed to continue to offer our support and solidarity to the people of Palestine, and to lend all our experience to this end.”
Meanwhile, following the White House meeting, the DUP’s Ms Little-Pengelly said the summit with Mr Biden had been “really positive”.
She added: “Throughout our engagements this week, we have been promoting Northern Ireland as a great place to live, visit and invest in.
“We are a global leader in sectors such as cyber security, RegTech, FinTech, advanced manufacturing and health sciences with a young, skilled and dedicated workforce. I am confident those influential decision makers we have met with have been very impressed by what they have heard.”
