Former US President Bill Clinton today urged the North's rival political leaders o to take the next step towards securing a lasting peace.
Mr Clinton, who played a key role in negotiations which led to the 1998 Belfast Agreement, met delegations from the leading political parties as they prepare for talks next month that could make or break the landmark peace deal.
"I think it's going to be a bracing challenge for them, meeting in September for just a few days, but I think if they want to do it, they can do it," the former president told reporters.
The crowds who turned out to see Mr Clinton today were much smaller than the 50,000 who greeted the then-President like a rock star on his first trip to Belfast during the heady early days of the peace process.
But hundreds still turned out in the rain while workers crowded the windows of surrounding offices when he emerged from the meetings at the Europa Hotel.
"The thing I hope the people of Northern Ireland will remember is what it's like now compared to how it was before the agreement," said Clinton, who described himself as a "cheerleader for peace".
"When Hillary and I first came here, in 1995, there were parts of this hotel where people could not stay because the bomb damage had not been repaired, I walked in today and the lobby was full of people from Australia - none of that would have happened if it wasn't for the agreement."