Belfast's Sinn Féin Lord Mayor Mr Alex Maskey has invited political, civic and religious leaders to a meeting to address sectarian tensions on the streets.
He convened the meeting after talks yesterday with the Northern Ireland security minister Ms Jane Kennedy at Stormont.
The Minister also held separate talks with an SDLP delegation from north Belfast comprising Assembly member Mr Alban Maginness and city councillors Mr Martin Morgan and Mr Pat Convery.
It is understood that at today's meeting, Mr Maskey will urge participants to give their support for a proposed lunchtime vigil against sectarianism outside City Hall on Friday.
The vigil was being organised in the wake of the murder of 19-year-old father-of-one Mr Gerard Lawlor in north Belfast on Sunday night and a summer of violent clashes between nationalists and loyalists along sectarian interfaces in different parts of the city.
Mr Maskey said: "The ongoing sectarian conflict, the murder of Gerard Lawlor, the attempted murders on Sunday night and Monday morning and the unrelenting difficulties being experienced in our interface areas all have contributed to an atmosphere of absolute despair and frustration.
"There can be no business more pressing at this time than that of restoring calm to the city.
"I am calling primarily on all political leaders to use their influence to bring the current sectarian onslaught to an end."
PA