The UK and Ireland have agreed to a “three-stranded process” of political talks in a bid to revive the devolved government of Northern Ireland, Euronews reports.
Belfast has been without its Stormont Assembly since January 2017 after it was suspended over leadership disagreements.
The joint statement from UK Prime MinisterTheresa May and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Friday laid out plans for a new round of talks, and an intergovernmental conference to discuss relations, security and political stability in Northern Ireland.
“We are determined to work together to ensure this process comes to a successful conclusion,” the statement added.
Friday’s announcement came just over a week after the murder of 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee in Londonderry, also referred to as Derry.
Both May and Varadkar attended McKee’s funeral earlier this week.
A dissident Irish republican group called the New IRA has said it was responsible for the fatal shooting of McKee on Easter weekend.
The group later apologised, maintaining its volunteer had been aiming at police during the night of rioting in Londonderry, however, this received widespread rejection.