US President George W Bush's adviser on Northern Ireland is expected to meet the North's new Police Board during a two-day visit later this week.
A State Department official confirmed to
PA News
that Richard Haass, the President's special envoy to Northern Ireland, would travel to the North on Wednesday for a round of political talks.
"He will be talking to the key political figures and those central to the Good Friday Agreement," the spokesman said.
"Mr Haass is also planning a meeting with the Police Board."
The Police Board came into being in November when the Royal Ulster Constabulary became the new Police Service of Northern Ireland.
There are 19 members on the board - 10 politicians and nine independent members.
The board, which is chaired by Professor Desmond Rea, monitors the actions of the new policing service as well as taking key decisions affecting police reforms.
At the end of last August, the SDLP became the first party to sign up to the board after the publication of the British government's Implementation Plan for the reform of policing.
This was the first time in Northern Ireland's history that a Nationalist party had officially endorsed the police force.
David Trimble's Ulster Unionists and the Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists have also taken their seats despite opposition to some reforms.
Sinn Féin, however, has refused to take the two seats it is entitled to, saying the reforms do not go far enough to satisfy the concerns of the Republicans.
Last month, nationalist and unionist members of the board overcame their differences by agreeing a badge for the new Police Service.
Mr Haass will meet the North's politicians as a US Congressional committee continues its inquiry into the arrest of three Irish republicans last August in Colombia on suspicion of training left wing rebels.
PA