PRESIDENT George W, Bush will make a whistle-stop visit to Northern Ireland next week. Bush's visit to the North will come at the end of a lengthy tour of western Europe.However, unlike his predecessor Bill Clinton, who made four trips to Northern Ireland, Bush is only expected to spend less than four hours there.The outgoing president will arrive amid tight security in Belfast next Monday, June 16, and is expected to travel directly to the Stormont estate.Bush is expected to meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as well as leading politicians, including former First Minister Ian Paisley.The president received the invitation to visit Northern Ireland from Paisley and Martin McGuinness during a visit to the White House last December.However, it is thought that it is highly unlikely that he will have enough time to meet each political party on an individual basis.Bush is also expected to meet a group of children from a local integrated school during his time at Stormont before he leaves Northern Ireland to return to Washington on Air Force 1.It is the second time that Bush has made a whistle stop visit to Northern Ireland.In April 2003 he met former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast for talks about the Iraq war.The low key approach to Bush's Northern Ireland visit is being seen by the fact that only a handful of U.S. press correspondents will accompany him during his Belfast stop-over.

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