The North's First Minister, the Rev Ian Paisley, has hailed the week-long visit he and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness made to the US as a success and has urged greater concentration on mobilising support for the North from the Scots-Irish community in North America.
Dr Paisley, in his first appearance before the Northern Ireland Assembly yesterday since the trip to New York and Washington, said there was a revival of the Scots-Irish lobby in the US.
He said the Executive and Assembly should tap into this lobby group, which could be a useful source of investment in the North.
During the trip, Dr Paisley and Mr McGuinness met a wide range of senior economic figures and politicians, including US president George W Bush and Senator Hillary Clinton.
Dr Paisley said he believed the visit would lead to significant investment in Northern Ireland.
"Many businesspeople and politicians who spoke to us about our investment message said that we are now speaking the language they wanted to hear," he said.
"We have met many new friends and potential business partners and we look forward to them visiting us and investing in us."
Dr Paisley also said a victims' commissioner could be appointed before the end of the month. The appointments process was recently extended and new candidates were invited to apply after Dr Paisley and Mr McGuinness appeared unable to agree on a suitable candidate.
