Blake embarks on visit to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan
March 17th, 2010 - 10:36 am ICT by IANSWashington, March 17 (IANS) Close on the heels of Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao’s ongoing visit here, a top US diplomat is embarking on a visit to India, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake, who is leaving Wednesday, will be having consultations with Indian and American business representatives as well as discussions with his counterparts in the Ministry of External Affairs, officials said.
Rao, who Monday delivered a blunt warning to Pakistan to stop encouraging terror targeted at India, Tuesday met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after a meeting with her US counterpart, Under Secretary of State Bill Burns.
State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley told reporters Tuesday that the Clinton-Rao meeting “is part of the ongoing dialogue that we have with India on our strategic dialogue.”
Crowley said Blake will will also deliver a keynote address at the Asia Society Corporate Conference in New Delhi on March 20.
In Afghanistan, he will meet with embassy officials and travel to Kunduz to meet with local officials and visit with one of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams there, he said.
In Pakistan, he will meet with federal and provincial officials, civil society representatives, religious leaders, and business representatives in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore.
He will also hold consultations with the European Union in Brussels about ongoing US dialogue in South and Central Asia, Crowley said.
- Nirupama Rao briefs US on talks with Pakistan - Mar 17, 2010
- Grossman to stress US commitment to Pak, Afghanistan during South Asia trip - Apr 29, 2011
- Pakistan, Afghanistan high in Rao's talks in US (Lead) - Mar 17, 2010
- Pakistan must rein in LeT: US official - Mar 20, 2010
- `First US-Japan-India trilateral not aimed at China' (Lead) - Dec 20, 2011
- 'US in common struggle with India, Pakistan against terrorism' - Mar 18, 2010
- First US-Japan-India trilateral, say not aimed at China - Dec 20, 2011
- Hillary Clinton to visit India next month - Apr 27, 2012
- US official in Dhaka to meet Grameen's Yunus - Mar 19, 2011
- US to Pakistan: Stop anti-India terror groups; Kashmir bilateral issue (Lead) - Oct 22, 2010
- Mathai meets Clinton, says India committed to n-deal - Feb 09, 2012
- India gets positive vibes to its concerns ahead of Obama visit (Lead) - Sep 18, 2010
- ons in the region with a - Apr 29, 2011
- Menon to visit Washington to prepare for strategic dialogue - Jan 25, 2011
- Manmohan Singh-Gilani meeting good for region: US - Apr 29, 2010
Tags: asia society, assistant secretary, bill burns, business representatives, central asia, crowley, diplomat, embassy officials, hillary clinton, india pakistan, karachi, keynote address, ministry of external affairs, nirupama rao, provincial officials, religious leaders, robert blake, society representatives, state department spokesman, us counterpart