Bill Clinton arrives in Belfast for 25th anniversary of Good Friday agreement

The former US president Bill Clinton and the former and present prime ministers of Ireland and the UK Bertie Ahern, Tony Blair, and Rishi Sunak will be in Belfast this week for a three-day conference on the future of Northern Ireland.

Sunak will headline a gala dinner on Wednesday night to acknowledge the contribution of young volunteers who have promoted reconciliation in their own communities.

It will be his fifth visit to Belfast since taking office in October, making it one of his most visited locations.

Clinton, the 42nd president of the US, arrived on Friday night as the 46th president was ending his whistle-stop tour of Ireland in Ballina.

Clinton was seen wandering around Belfast over the weekend telling locals, including one young voter, Karl Duncan, that he was looking forward to his return to Derry.

Other speakers lined up for the Belfast conference include the former US senator George Mitchell, who chaired the peace talks 25 years ago, Lord Empey, one of the key Ulster Unionist party participants in the negotiations, and former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.

Prominent unionists scheduled to speak include Doug Beattie, head of the Ulster Unionist party, the DUP MP Ian Paisley, and Dawn Purvis, a former leader of the Progressive Unionist arty.