Northern Ireland's political leaders will today pay tribute to the victims of last September's terror attacks during a visit to the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Stormont First Minister Mr David Trimble and Deputy First Minister Mr Mark Durkan will lay a wreath in memory of the September 11th victims during a visit to the "Ground Zero" site where New York's Twin Towers once stood.
The Ulster Unionist leader and his counterpart in the nationalist SDLP were also planning to meet New York firemen who took part in efforts to rescue people caught in the September 11th attacks.
Mr Trimble and Mr Durkan are on a week-long visit to the United States during which they will also travel to Washington DC for the opening of an office for the Northern Ireland government.
They will also hold talks with officials in the Bush administration.
The two leaders' visit to the US began with a debate at the World Economic Forum in Manhattan where they shared a platform with Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams, loyalist Assemblyman Mr David Ervine, US adviser on Northern Ireland Mr Richard Haass and former talks chairman Senator George Mitchell.
Mr Trimble warned delegates that despite the progress which had been made under the Belfast Agreement there could be a "serious problem" at the next Assembly elections if unionist alienation was not addressed.
Mr Durkan said: "We need to be very clear when we talk about equality that we are talking about reaching equality not by subtraction, not by division, but by all the multipliers the Agreement can give us and by adding on and reinforcing each other".
PA