Deputy US Secretary of State John Negroponte is to make a week's visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan from September 10 as part of consultations with the key partners in the "war on terror," the State Department said Wednesday.
In Afghanistan, he is scheduled to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai and other officials and civil society groups on counter-terrorism and reconstruction co-operation, a department statement said. Negroponte, who is the deputy to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, will hold talks with General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and civil society representatives during his visit to Islamabad.
No specific dates were given for the visit, which according to the statement is "part of his regular consultations with two of America's most important strategic partners in the war against terrorism."
The talks in Pakistan include a bilateral "strategic partnership" dialogue, involving co-operation on counter-terrorism, education, science and technology, and expansion of economic opportunities, the statement said.
His visit to Pakistan is the second in less than two months and coincides with political tensions in the country as Musharraf faces pressure to hang up his military uniform ahead of elections.