New Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain today said his priority was the restoration of the Assembly.
He said goodwill and effort on all sides would make it possible to "crack this problem". British prime minister Tony Blair had stressed the importance of securing a permanent peace deal, Mr Hain said.
He will arrive in Belfast on Monday to begin work. "There is no prize more important than peace," he said.
Mr Hain, speaking in London where he was being briefed by officials, said the election results in Northern Ireland had sent out a message. "I intend to take account of this and to make sure we bring everybody together.
"I believe with effort and goodwill we can crack this problem and make sure we get progress and momentum and get everybody working together.
"We have had now a tremendous period of peace since the Good Friday Agreement was signed and got on the road. We must get that back and working together."
Mr Hain said he was privileged and delighted to have been given "this absolutely crucial Cabinet job" and said it would not be in any way diminished by him combining it with the post of Welsh Secretary.
Creating the conditions that would lead to the restoration of the Assembly had to be the first priority, he said outside the Northern Ireland office in London.