US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday hailed a landmark deal on transferring police and justice powers from London to Northern Ireland, saying it will help cement the decade-old peace process.

In a statement, Clinton, who visited Belfast in October to try to break the deadlock on the powers transfer, said she planned to host talks in Washington next week with Northern Ireland’s leaders about “the way forward.”

On Tuesday members of the Northern Ireland Assembly voted 88 in favor of the devolution deal and 17 against, the latter all unionists who want the province to remain part of Britain.

The chief US diplomat commended the lawmakers for endorsing the deal, which she called an “important step for the peaceful and prosperous future for all of the people of Northern Ireland for generations to come.”

Devolution will “mark a major milestone” in achieving the aims of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and the 2006 Saint Andrews Agreement and “will help cement the hard-won gains of the past decade,” Clinton said.

“The journey is not over, and real challenges remain,” she warned.

“I encourage all parties to work together in a spirit of cooperation and compromise as they continue the road toward a full and lasting peace,” she added.

She pledged continued US support for a peaceful, prosperous and shared Northern Ireland, saying there will be deeper cultural exchanges and business relationships.

Clinton said the US economic envoy to Northern Ireland, Declan Kelly, is working to promote economic growth, international investment, and “other new opportunities” in the British province.

“And I look forward to meeting with Northern Ireland?s leaders next week in Washington to discuss the way forward together,” Clinton said, apparently referring to Peter Robinson, the first minister and his deputy, Martin McGuinness.

Thanks AFP.