Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will hold talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown next Sunday, it emerged today.
The two leaders will meet while in Manchester to attend ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.
It is the third time the pair have met since Mr Brown took over as prime minister last June. Mr Ahern has had bilateral discussions with him in Belfast and on the margins of an EU Summit in Brussels.
The Government confirmed both men would meet while in the city attending the derby game between Manchester United and Manchester City.
The main item on their agenda will be the recent progress in Northern Ireland and how they can continue to support the power-sharing Stormont administration.
"They will discuss the devolution of justice and policing powers," said a Government spokesman. "The development of the northern economy will also be focused on."
Meanwhile, a meeting of the North-South ministerial council is due to take place at Dundalk Institute of Technology on Thursday, while the British-Irish Council in Dublin is scheduled to meet on February 14th.
PA