Zardari, Karzai, Obama to meet next week on Af-Pak policy

US President Barack Obama will meet his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts here next week to discuss the ways to implement the new Af-Pak policy and accelerate the cooperation between the two countries, the White House said today.      

This would be the first trilateral summit among the three countries under the Obama Administration.      

"In order to raise the level of the dialogue, accelerate the process of cooperation between the two countries, and implement the new strategy formulated by the United States, President Obama will host at the White House President (Hamid) Karzai of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and President (Asif Ali) Zardari of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," the White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, announced.      

On Wednesday, Obama will meet with Karzai and Zardari.     

"In addition to the trilateral summits, both the Presidents will have separate meetings with President Obama to discuss issues in the US-Afghanistan and the US-Pakistan relationships," Gibbs said.      

This trilateral meeting follows up on Obama's March 27 announcement to establish a standing trilateral dialogue between the three governments, he said. "The President looks forward to discussing with these two democratically elected leaders how we can work together to enhance our cooperation in this important part of the world, as the United States implements a new strategy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan," Gibbs said.      

Besides meeting the US President, the two delegations would be meeting other top officials of the Administration on May 6 and 7 to discuss with them a wide range of issues.      

Responding to a question on the current situation in Pakistan after Obama announced his new policy, Gibbs ruled out review of the Af-Pak strategy outlined on March 27.     

"There's no policy review of the policy review. Obviously, we're continuing to monitor the situation throughout the region and in both countries, understanding that it's not a fixed situation," he said.      

The White House Press Secretary said the broader policy review was undertaken about because Obama believed that it was a region of the world where the US had not, over the course of the past many years, dedicated the time and the energy and the resources to getting right.      

"The President and his team believe that while there are regional challenges, there are also challenges that are unique to each individual country. And I think we see, only in the past few weeks, the importance of getting that right."      

Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during the summit, there will be "very intense sessions on the specifics of what we're trying to accomplish."