Peace Jirga
Assistant Secretary Crowley (Feb. 11): "... President Karzai indicated he was going to pursue [Peace Jirga ]... and we think ... it’s obviously a trusted Afghan venue and vehicle for resolving crucial issues that crop up within Afghan society. So we look forward to seeing that meeting take place..." Press Briefing»
Pakistan-India Dialogue
Assistant Secretary Crowley (Feb. 11): "We have always encouraged dialogue between Pakistan and India. Of course, this is a decision for both countries to make on their own. But in our various discussions with leaders from Pakistan and India, we have long encouraged them to resume the kind of dialogue that the two countries have had at various times in the past." Press Briefing»
A Stable Regional
Assistant Secretary Crowley (Feb. 4): "[W]e are supportive of dialogue among India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan as a key component of moving ahead and achieving a stable region." Daily Press Briefing»
Kazakhstan
Secretary Clinton (Feb. 4): "I’m very pleased to welcome the foreign minister from Kazakhstan, a country of great strategic importance with whom the United States has developed a closer and closer relationship." Full Text»
Bombing
Assistant Secretary Crowley (Feb.3): "[W]e are offering the condolences for those who were killed today in Pakistan, including three American soldiers and a number of Pakistani citizens, including children, as they were gathering outside of a girls school in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province." Daily Press Briefing»
Special Representative Holbrooke and Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack speak about their trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan
Special Representative Holbrooke (Feb. 3): "Our goal is nothing less than to help Afghanistan restore its agricultural sector to the vibrant export economy that it once had, and which was progressively destroyed starting in 1978." Full Text»
Pakistan
Assistant Secretary Crowley (Feb. 2): "We have very close collaboration with Pakistan on our shared struggle in combating extremism that exists in the tribal areas and through other parts of Pakistan. And we have senior officials who meet with their Pakistani counterparts on a regular basis on the military side and the civilian side." Daily Press Briefing»
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs deals with U.S. foreign policy and U.S. relations with the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
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Commencement of Kazakhstan's OSCE Chairmanship
Assistant Secretary Blake (Jan. 20): "As Kazakhstan begins to serve as the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe this year, it is charting a course for a bright and promising future. It is a future in which the United States and Kazakhstan together seek peace, security, economic development and prosperity.
The challenges facing the OSCE and the international community are real but our strength comes from facing those challenges collectively and with a common purpose. With continued reform, Kazakhstan can become the nexus of Eurasia in the 21st century, the point where all roads cross." Full Text»
Collaboration With India
Secretary Clinton (Nov. 24): "The Vice President understood early what is now a core tenet of foreign policy in the Obama Administration, that the ability and the commitment of India and the United States to work together will be critical to our successes in both nations in addressing common challenges and achieving shared goals in the 21st century.
As the world’s largest democracy and the world’s oldest democracy, we are poised to collaborate on a number of fronts, from strengthening our security and confronting the threat of violent extremism, to fostering breakthroughs in science and technology, to increasing political, economic, and social opportunities for the world’s women." Remarks» Photos»
