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And significantly given Mr Biden's recent remarks, Mr Johnson also took the opportunity to reaffirm his commitment to the Good Friday Agreement. A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister spoke to President Joe Biden this afternoon. The leaders discussed the fight against coronavirus and updated each other on their countries’ vaccine rollouts." Mr Johnson had stressed that global access to vaccines will be key to defeating the pandemic, the spokeswoman said. She added: “The Prime Minister and President agreed that combating climate change will be a crucial component of building back better from the pandemic. "They shared their goals for the President’s Climate Change Summit in April and the UK-hosted COP26 Summit in November, including the need to address climate change and preserve biodiversity in tandem. "They discussed the importance of ensuring all countries have access to the green technology they need to reduce carbon emissions. “They talked about shared international challenges. The leaders agreed on the need for Iran to come back into compliance with the nuclear deal." Speaking on the day China banned several MPs, including former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, from their country, she added: "On China, the Prime Minister and President reflected on the significant action taken by the UK, US and other international partners earlier this week to impose sanctions on human rights violators in Xinjiang and expressed their concern about retaliatory taken action by China." Mr Biden ruffled feathers during his first press conference as US President after indirectly referring to the Irish potato famine, and perhaps mindful of this, Mr Johnson had taken the oppotunity to discuss the importance of peace in Northern Ireland. The spokeswoman said: “On Northern Ireland, the leaders reiterated their shared commitment to protecting the Good Friday Agreement. “The Prime Minister looked forward to welcoming the President to Cornwall for the G7 Summit in June." Speaking yesterday when questioned about chlldren at the US-Mexico border, Mr Biden referred to his ancestors, saying: "When my great grandfather got on a coffin ship in the Irish Sea, expectation was, was he going to live long enough on that ship to get to the United States of America? Joe Biden discusses his Irish ancestry "But they left because of what the Brits had been doing. "They were in real, real trouble. They didn't want to leave. But they had no choice. "I can't guarantee we're going to solve everything, but I can guarantee we can make everything better. "We can make it better. We can change the lives of so many people." The former Delaware Senator has also been clear in his determination to link any possible future US/UK trade deal with preserving the intergrity of the GFA, signed in 1998 and widely credited with having brough an end to the Troubles which blighted Northern Ireland for a generation. Speaking during the 2020 Presidential election campaign, he warned: "We can’t allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit. “Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period.” Mr Biden traces his Irish roots back to the Blewitts, from County Mayo, and the Finnegans from County Louth. Patrick Blewitt, his great-great grandfather Patrick Blewitt was born in Ballina in Country Mayo, in 1832. He left Ireland for the US in 1850 for a new life in the United States. The following year he returned to bring parents Edward and Mary and his siblings to the States.