Deputy Secretary of State Thomas R. Nides is traveling to Amman, Jordan, April 2-3, 2012 for discussions with the Jordanian government on U.S.-Jordanian relations and meetings with the business community on U.S.-Jordanian business relations.
While in Amman, Deputy Secretary Nides will meet with King Abdullah II and senior Jordanian government officials, including Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Chief of Defense LTG Mashal Zaben.
Deputy Secretary Nides also will travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 4 to build on our recent high-level engagement with the Pakistani government as its parliamentary review approaches a conclusion. This includes the meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Gilani on March 27 at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, as well as the March 25 meeting between Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Grossman and President Zardari in Dushanbe. We look forward to continuing discussions with the Government of Pakistan on matters of mutual concern, such as security; peace and stability in Afghanistan; and economic development. As President Obama said before his meeting with Prime Minister Gilani, we respect the work of the parliament and believe it is important for us to have candid dialogue to work through these issues going forward.
While in Islamabad, Deputy Secretary Nides will meet with senior Pakistani government officials, including Foreign Minister Khar, Foreign Secretary Jilani, and Finance Minister Shaikh.