US envoy confident on commitment

Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th president on 20 Jaunary

The US Special Envoy Paula Dobriansky has said she is confident Washington will continue its strong commitment to Northern Ireland under Barack Obama.

Ms Dobriansky is on a farewell visit to Northern Ireland before stepping down when President Bush leaves office.

She said the US has always had a great interest in Northern Ireland.

"I have no doubt that that is going to continue... I think there have been clear indications about the desire to continue along those lines," she said.

Questioned about the bloodshed in Gaza, she said that dialogue was the best way forward and that the Northern Ireland experience had "great applicability".

Asked about whether the global credit crunch had undone the work attempted during last year's US investment conference she said the current economic challenges provided "an opportunity for Northern Ireland which still had assets outside companies are interested in".