The North's First Minister Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness begin a five-day visit to the US today that will culminate in a meeting with US president George Bush at the White House on Friday.
The joint visit has created excitement in New York and Washington, where business and political figures who have been involved in the peace process view it as a dramatic expression of political progress in the North.
The visit starts in New York this morning with a breakfast at the New York Stock Exchange and a meeting with the city's mayor, Michael Bloomberg. At the stock exchange, Dr Paisley and Mr McGuinness will discuss the North's economy with business executives and potential investors.
This evening, the two political leaders will attend a private dinner hosted by Mutual of America's Bill Flynn and Tom Moran. As chairman of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, Mr Flynn played a key role in encouraging US political engagement in the peace process during the 1990s.
The British and Irish consuls general in New York will attend a lunch with Dr Paisley and Mr McGuinness tomorrow hosted by the Northern Ireland Bureau, which represents the North's executive in the US, to discuss business and tourism. The focus on investment continues on Wednesday morning, when Dr Paisley and Mr McGuinness will take part in the opening bell ceremony at the Nasdaq. Later that day, the emphasis will shift towards politics when they travel to Washington to address a reception with US special envoy to the North, Paula Dobriansky, that evening.
On Thursday, they will go to Capitol Hill for a lunch with congressional leaders hosted by congressman Richard Neal and congressman Jim Walsh of the Congressional Friends of Ireland. Senator Edward Kennedy will host a meeting with senators that afternoon and Dr Paisley and Mr McGuinness are later expected to meet Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton privately. They will discuss plans for a major investment conference in Belfast scheduled for May 2008 at a meeting with commerce secretary Carlos Gutierrez.
The highlight of the visit comes on Friday when Mr Bush will welcome Dr Paisley and Mr McGuinness to the White House for talks that will also be attended by national security adviser Stephen Hadley.