Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness arrived in Washington last night to brief senators, congressmen and State Department officials on the IRA's decommissioning of all its arms.
Mr McGuinness will meet senior officials at the State Department before briefing a group of congressmen who have played an active role in the peace process, including New York's Jim Walsh and Massachusetts' Richard Neal.
A spokesman for Mr Walsh said he expected the meeting, which will be followed by a press conference on Capitol Hill, to focus on this week's decommissioning report. Mr McGuinness will later brief senators with an interest in the peace process, including Connecticut's Chris Dodd.