US secretary of state Hillary Clinton urged the North's leaders today to push forward with the final steps in the peace process.
After a meeting in Stormont Castle with the First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, Mrs Clinton hailed the progress already made in the last 15 years as a model for reconciliation around the world.
But she said President Barack Obama’s administration stood ready to help in any way to overcome the outstanding issues confronting the powersharing administration.
Foremost among those is the devolution of policing and justice powers from Westminster, which she discussed with Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness during an hour of talks.
“There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Northern Ireland has come a long way,” she said after the meeting. “Old enemies are working together to build a stable, prosperous future and I’ve seen first hand how you have become a model for conflict resolution and reconciliation around the world.
“I hear that on my travels: people who are determined to choose peace and progress over violence look toward you,” Mrs Clinton added.
“The United States stands ready to help in any way we can, our peoples are bound together by both historic and ancestral ties nurtured by friendship and partnerships. Both my husband and I feel a special bond with this land and as Secretary of State I am committed to continue to offer a hand of friendship and partnership.”
Republicans and unionists have yet to finalise an agreement on devolving policing and justice powers from Westminster to the Stormont Assembly, but lengthy talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week carved out a financial blueprint for the move.
The Secretary of State is making her seventh visit to Northern Ireland since she first arrived as First Lady with her husband, former president Bill Clinton in the 1990s.
Welcoming Mrs Clinton’s comments, both Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness reiterated their determination to make power-sharing work.
“We have made real progress in setting up our administration,” said DUP leader Mr Robinson. “We have made more decisions in our Executive than our predecessors did and we have done it in a shorter period of time.
“Of course there are difficulties but I believe we are committed to making it work, we are committed to the long haul, we are committed to overcoming the problems we will face and we are very grateful for the assistance we have had from the United States, from this and from particularly the two previous administrations.”
Mr McGuinness said Mrs Clinton had played a vital role in securing the peace Northern Ireland now enjoyed.
“Hillary Clinton has been a true friend to all of us going back over 15 years, and her continued intellectual and emotional and political engagement with us is something that has been to our enormous benefit over all of that time.”
The prospect of future investment by US companies was also discussed during the meeting, with Mrs Clinton later stressing the importance of political stability to American business leaders thinking of investing in Northern Ireland.
After the meeting at Stormont Castle, Mrs Clinton travelled the short distance to Parliament Buildings to address Assembly members.
She told MLAs the US would not meddle in the issue of justice and policing but said that, with grit and resolve, there could be progress.
“Time and time the leadership that each of you can provide, the torn fabric of society will be woven together stitch by stitch, choice by choice,” she said. “The people of Northern Ireland have given this Assembly a powerful mandate and you in turn have accepted that responsibility to summon the highest qualities of leadership and to repay the faith that people have invested in you.”
Addtional reporting: PA