Kerry to remain unavailable during Sharif's US visit

US Secretary of State John Kerry would travel to Europe most of the next week, making him unavailable in the city during the all-important visit of the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the period.

Sharif, who was elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan early this year, is scheduled to meet the US President Barack Obama at the White House on October 23. It was Kerry who had extended an invitation to Sharif to meet with Obama during the UN General Assembly session in New York last month.

The Pakistani Prime Minister is expected to arrive in the US early next week or over the weekend, during which he is likely to hold a series of meeting with the top US lawmakers, senior officials of the Obama Administration and interact with the think tanks and the Pakistani American community.

State Department spokesperson, Jen Psaki, yesterday announced that Kerry would be travelling to Paris, London and Rome from October 21 to 24 -- the same period when Sharif would be in town.

"In Paris, Kerry will meet with representatives of the Arab League's Arab Peace Initiative Follow-up Committee to update them on the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, as part of his continued engagement with our Arab League partners on the issue," Psaki said.

Kerry will also meet Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal to discuss bilateral and international issues, she added.

In London, the US Secretary will attend the London 11 ministerial meeting with key international partners and Syrian Coalition leadership to review progress towards convening the Geneva Conference on Syria.

Psaki said that Kerry will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Rome to discuss ongoing final status negotiations with the Palestinians, along with Iran, Syria, and other issues of mutual concern.