Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake, Jr. is traveling to India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Belgium March 17-30. This is his first visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan as Assistant Secretary.
Assistant Secretary Blake will deliver a keynote address at the Asia Society Corporate Conference in New Delhi on March 20. He also will have consultations with Indian and American business representatives, and have discussions with his counterparts in the Ministry of External Affairs to prepare for the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue in Washington in early summer.
While in Afghanistan, the Assistant Secretary will meet with embassy officials in Kabul and then travel to Kunduz to meet with local officials and visit the Provincial Reconstruction Team.
In Pakistan, Assistant Secretary Blake will meet with federal and provincial officials, civil society representatives, religious leaders and business representatives in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore.
Assistant Secretary Blake will hold consultations with EU counterparts in Brussels as part of our ongoing dialogue on South and Central Asia.
