The visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Belfast today is a further important step in the peace process. Both she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, played a major role in the dark days when peace seemed hardly possible and it is appropriate that she is here to help move the process further forward.

Hillary Clinton is obviously no stranger to Northern Ireland - and she is most welcome as someone who has given much of her time and attention to a situation which caused great suffering on all sides.

She had considerable influence as First Lady, but now her power is much greater as the US Secretary of State, with a formidable reputation as a politician, and a crucial international brief.

She also comes with the blessing of President Obama, who has just received the remarkable honour - and perhaps the added burden - of being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Much has improved here since Mrs Clinton's previous visits, but much still remains to be done.

Her presence underlines that a permanent peace is possible, and that Northern Ireland can provide an important example, if not an exact template, for other parts of the world which are in conflict.

The tone of the Belfast meeting may be gauged from the weekend talks between Mrs Clinton and Taoiseach Brian Cowen in Dublin.

They focused on the current developments in Northern Ireland, with an emphasis on helping the main parties to find an agreement on the hitherto vexed issue of devolving policing and justice.

Important progress seems to have been made by the DUP and Sinn Fein in recent days, particularly with the likelihood of substantially greater funding for the new department. However, that progress must be maintained and there should be sustained pressure on the main parties for closing the deal.

The US Secretary of State has the considerable advantage of knowing the detailed background to the complex peace process here, and even though she was criticised during the Presidential election campaign for appearing to emphasise her contribution, she is justified in claiming to have played an important part in bringing peace that much closer.

No doubt her expertise and knowledge of the territory here, as well as her personal contacts with the leading players, can do nothing but good, and there would be considerable icing on the cake if she were to announce significant inward investment which we badly need.

Because of the stature of a US Secretary of State, Mrs Clinton's visit to Belfast today will focus international attention, however briefly, on what has been achieved in Northern Ireland.

It is right that this achievement is recognised, but it is also imperative that our people and politicians continue to honour the contribution of Mrs Clinton and her fellow Americans to all of us in our time of need.

The best way to do this is to ensure that the bomb and the bullet are permanently outlawed, and it is perhaps most fitting of all that Mrs Clinton's visit today coincides with the welcome announcement that the INLA is the latest paramilitary group expected to disarm later this year.

This is the only way forward and Hillary Clinton deserves our thanks for all she has done, and is still doing, to make a permanent peace possible.