PM Gilani to meet President Obama next week

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

ISLAMABAD: US President Barack Obama will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Washington next week, the White House said.

The prime minister arrives in Washington on April 11 to attend a nuclear summit the US president is hosting, reported DawnNews

More than 40 heads of state and government are expected to attend the summit.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that President Obama will have bilateral meetings with nine world leaders including Mr Gilani and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Other world leaders marked for bilateral meetings include President Hu Jintao of China, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Serzh Sargsian of Armenia and President Jacob Zuma of South Africa.

Most of these leaders represent countries where the United States either has major strategic interests or they have had major events of political significance in the recent past.

The White House is also trying to arrange a meeting between the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers but so far the Indians are reluctant to have high-level political contacts with Pakistan.

Recently, President Obama sent a directive to his senior aides asking them to increase their efforts for reconciliation between India and Pakistan.

The Americans feel that such reconciliation is necessary for the success of US-led war against terrorism in the South Asian region.

Wednesday, 07 Apr, 2010