The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, is hoping to meet President Clinton tomorrow during his visit to Washington. Mr Clinton is expected to "drop by" while Mr Trimble and the other members of the UUP delegation, Mr John Taylor and Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, are meeting the President's national security adviser, Mr Sandy Berger, in the White House.
Today, Mr Trimble will begin his two-day visit with a press conference at the National Press Club. Later, he will meet officials at the Department of Commerce which oversees US economic aid to Northern Ireland and the Border counties and organises trade missions to those areas.
On Capitol Hill, the UUP delegation will meet the House of Representatives Committee on International Affairs, chaired by Mr Ben Gilman who takes a close interest in Northern Ireland. Mr Gilman and others lobbied successfully against the threatened deportation of six former IRA members. The deportation process was suspended by the Attorney General, Ms Janet Reno, several weeks ago, as a "confidence building measure" to aid the peace process. The UUP delegation will also meet a number of senators, including Senator Edward Kennedy.