Boucher to visit India, discuss N deal

New Delhi, Nov 3 (UNI) US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, will lead the US delegation at the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference being held here on November 18-19 to discuss security and economic development in Afghanistan.

The Conference, to be jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, will be the second such gathering of experts to discuss regional cooperation for Afghanistan's development.

The conference will also take up issues like energy security, agriculture and agricultural development.

Nineteen countries including Pakistan, China, Iran, Central Asian nations and those from the G-8 will attend the conference.

This will be the second such conference on Afghanistan. The first was held in Kabul.

Mr Boucher, who is expected to arrive here on November 16, will also have discussions with Indian officials on the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear agreement which is expected to be taken up for voting by the US Congress in its 'lame duck' session this month.

Mr Boucher, who will begin a two-week South Asia tour from tomorrow, will also visit Pakistan and Afghanistan to follow up on US President George Bush's recent meetings with President Karzai and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in Washington.

A US embassy official here today said Mr Boucher will also travel to Bangladesh to assess the current political situation and press for peaceful, credible and non-violent elections in the country in January 2007.

He will also visit Bhutan for a meeeting with King Jigme Singhye Wangchuk and other officials and to Nepal to discuss the Himalayan Kingdom's transition to democracy, the official said.

UNI RB PK HT1445