The Northern Ireland Assembly has been summoned to meet on Saturday at 1pm, the assembly's speaker has said, paving the way for the power-sharing government to be formed after a two-year impasse over post-Brexit trade rules.
In a statement, speaker Alex Maskey said: "I have now received communication from the DUP and contacted the party whips which indicates that the necessary business can be completed successfully.
"Therefore, the Assembly is hereby summoned to meet on Saturday 3 February 2024 at 1pm.
"I will be meeting with Party Whips at 12pm on Friday 2 February 2024 to discuss the arrangements for the sitting - an Order Paper will be issued in advance of the meeting in the normal way."
The DUP requested the Speaker of the Stormont Assembly to recall the assembly this afternoon, after striking a deal with the British government on the operation of post-Brexit trade rules.
It follows the approval of British MPs of fast-tracked legislation designed to "safeguard and durably strengthen" Northern Ireland's place in the Union and UK internal market.
The two motions aim to give effect to commitments made in the UK government's 'Safeguarding The Union' command paper and are expected to clear the way for the DUP to end its two-year blockade of Stormont.
Mr Donaldson said that there now "exists a basis upon which the Northern Ireland Assembly can meet to elect a speaker, and fill the offices of first and deputy first ministers and executive ministers".
He added: "I expect the Assembly will meet on Saturday following the Speaker consulting and making all necessary arrangements.
"It is my intention to meet with the leaders of the other executive parties during the course of Friday to finalise arrangements on the key issues that will be tackled by the incoming Executive.
"Following the completion of detailed internal party processes with my Party Officers, all our elected members and DUP Peers in the Lords, as well as the Government having taken the legislative steps required of it, we are now able to re-establish the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive.
"We do so confidently as we look forward to continuing to work on all the issues that matter to people in Northern Ireland and to use all the new structures to shape the future, confident in the knowledge that much has been achieved," he said.
"I expect the Assembly will meet on Saturday following the Speaker consulting and making all necessary arrangements. It is my intention to meet with the leaders of the other Executive parties during the course of Friday to finalise arrangements on the key issues that will be tackled by the incoming Executive," he added.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has welcomed the request from Mr Donaldson to recall the Stormont Assembly.
"I am delighted that the Democratic Unionist Party have taken this next step to work with the other Northern Ireland parties to recall the Assembly," he said.
"The Government made commitments to introduce legislation in our Command Paper and we have now followed through on those commitments.
"I look forward to working with the new first minister, deputy first minister, and all the ministers in a returned Northern Ireland Executive, alongside Northern Ireland Assembly members, to improve the lives of people living here."
The US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs Joe Kennedy has said that the return of the political institutions to Northern Ireland is "hugely positive" and "critically important".
He added: "The people of Northern Ireland were still able to build resilience through those challenges."
Mr Kennedy was speaking at an event hosted by the US Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin.
The UK government has said the changes cut post-Brexit bureaucracy on Irish Sea trade and ensure EU law alignment would no longer automatically apply in Northern Ireland.
Mr Heaton-Harris sought to reassure MPs that the measures will not reduce the UK's ability to diverge from EU rules.
The DUP's Sammy Wilson argued that Northern Ireland will be "subservient" to EU rules while concerns were raised by some Tory backbenchers.
The motions were approved in the House of Commons without the need for a formal vote.
They will be considered by the House of Lords on 13 February, and peers must approve them before they can become law.
Speaking before the UK parliament Mr Heaton-Harris said: "This package will safeguard and durably strengthen Northern Ireland's integral place in the Union and the UK's internal market, and do so by placing commitments in that package into law."
hailed the deal after its publication yesterday
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood told Mr Donaldson: "I think he has done a lot of good work over the past couple of weeks and he's been very brave."
But Mr Eastwood added: "The SDLP don't support this command paper actually.
"We think it has moved far beyond the principles set out in the Good Friday Agreement, it is undermining north-south cooperation, and it's far too much focused on east-west.
"Moving on from this point, we need to ensure that any future negotiation is done with all parties and both governments so everybody can feel comfortable with the result."
Today's motions come as more than 2,500 public sector transport workers across Northern Ireland are taking part in strike action.
Questions about proposals
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the European Commission "has some questions" about proposals on the Windsor Framework.
He said he spoke to the Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a reception in Brussels about the agreement.
"Certainly, the European Commission have some questions and are going to want to look at some of the detail," he told reporters in Brussels.
He said the Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič had held a "good" conversation by phone last night with the UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
Additional reporting: Sandra Hurley
