US secretary of state Hillary Clinton will visit Ireland next week for talks with political leaders, it was confirmed today.
Ms Clinton is expected to travel to London on October 10th, to Dublin the following day and to Belfast on the 12th.
Mrs Clinton will spend about a day in each city, and will probably meet Taoiseach Brian Cowen, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin and President Mary McAleese in Dublin. They are likely to discuss Northern Ireland, North-South economic ties and a range of bi-lateral isues.
Mrs Clinton will be accompanied by the US envoy to Northern Ireland Declan Kelly.
The Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward said during his speech to Labour’s conference in Brighton today that said the devolution of policing and justice powers to Stormont was the “last part of the jigsaw” to give the North the prosperous future it deserves.
He told delegates Mrs Clinton and her husband former president Bill Clinton had been “unstinting” in their support for Northern Ireland.
“I can announce today that within the next few weeks Secretary of State Hillary Clinton specifically wants to come to Northern Ireland to help look at the jobs and opportunities and investment that America can bring to Northern Ireland,” he said.
There were 42 million Irish-Americans who want to invest there and America “wants to put its money where their hearts truly rest”.
Addtional reporting: PA