The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said in London last night he was "confident" the political impasse in Northern Ireland would be resolved soon.
As he arrived at Downing Street for talks over dinner with the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, and the new Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr John Reid, he said the Government was "determined to make progress" on the issues of policing, demilitarisation and decommissioning.
Mr Ahern and Mr Blair are making space in their diaries over the coming days so they can spearhead a major drive to resolve the remaining difficulties, the most stubborn of which is over policing. Accordingly, they have postponed Monday's planned British-Irish Council meeting in Dublin.
A Government spokesman said after the meeting that the two leaders had had two hours of very useful discussions and had agreed "to try and make further progress in the current phase of the peace process through further discussions with the parties over the coming days.
"As a result the BIC [BritishIrish Council] meeting tentatively scheduled for Monday, February 5th is being postponed."
Before the meeting, Mr Ahern told reporters outside Downing Street: "We are determined to make progress, determined to find a way that we can complete the outstanding issues, comprehensive and important issues".
He continued: "They're issues that are extremely important for the peace and security of everybody in Ireland and to see the full implementation of the Good Friday agreement".
Mr Ahern and Mr Blair are trying to finalise a formula on the interlocking issues of policing, demilitarisation and paramilitary arms disposal that they hope Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the Ulster Unionist Party can endorse.
High-level British and Irish government contact will continue with these three parties today and through the weekend, spokesmen for Mr Ahern and Mr Blair confirmed after last night's meeting.
Spokesmen for the two leaders played down any prospects of a deal by the weekend. They believed it would take intensive negotiations into next week to conclude an agreement. It is expected that if such a stage is reached, the deal will be sealed in Hillsborough in the presence of Mr Ahern and Mr Blair.
The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, and the SDLP deputy leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, are expected to have talks with Mr Blair in London today. It also emerged last night that Mr Blair met Sinn Fein's Mr Gerry Adams and Mr Martin McGuinness in London on Tuesday night.
Mr Blair's meeting with Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness failed to satisfy Sinn Fein demands on policing, said a party spokesman last night.
Both the British and Irish governments will remain in high-level contact with Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the UUP in the coming days.
He continued: " They're issues that are extremely important for the peace and security of everybody in Ireland and to see the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement".