Northern Ireland's political leaders are to travel to the United States next month in a bid to attract investment, it was revealed today.

First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness are expected to attend the prestigious Fortune 500 business forum in Washington DC.

It is understood the US administration extended an invitation to Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness to make the trip, and the news comes only days after a deal was brokered to secure Northern Ireland's power-sharing government.

It is understood the Northern Ireland leaders see the trip as an opportunity to build on the success of a US investment conference held in Belfast earlier this year.

The Fortune 500 Forum is one of the most prestigious events in the corporate calendar, with business leaders gathering to showcase America's top-performing companies.

On Tuesday, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein announced that they had agreed a deal on the devolution of policing and justice powers from Westminster, ending a stand-off which had blocked Executive meetings since June.

Today, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister opened a new £9 million production plant in Belfast, which will create 30 jobs, and declared they were now focused on building the economy.

Mr McGuinness said: "As an Executive, our top priority in coming weeks is to deliver an economic package that will help both businesses and households weather this current economic storm.

"Amongst a range of measures, we are looking at ways to expedite our capital expenditure programme, to inject vital government spending into the system as quickly as possible.

"The First Minister and I will also travel to the US in the next few weeks to build on the excellent achievements of the US investment conference earlier this year in securing further investment and trade links in our economy."