Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness will attend the prestigious Fortune 500 business forum in Washington, D.C. next week in a bid to attract investment to Northern Ireland.

It is the first trip that the two leaders will take to the U.S. together in their present positions as leader and deputy leader of the North's power-sharing government.

It is understood the Bush administration extended the invitation to Robinson and McGuinness to attend the forum in recognition of recent progress after five months of political stalemate. In a statement on Monday 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."

To that end Robinson and McGuinness jointly opened a new £9 million production plant in Belfast on Tuesday, which will create 30 local jobs, in a clear signal that they were now focused on building the North's economy.

Responding to the suggestion that action needed to be taken on the North's economy McGuinness continued, "Among a range of measures, we are now looking at ways to expedite our capital expenditure program, to inject vital government spending into the system as quickly as possible."

McGuinness and Robinson will travel to the U.S. next week to build on the achievements of the U.S.-Northern Ireland Investment Conference held in Belfast in May of this year to secure further investment and trade links between the two economies.

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.

The two leaders are also expected to travel to New York during their trip next week.